Catching Up with Weeds

 I remember when I bought my current i-phone a couple months ago, I was ready and excited to take clear and beautiful pictures of weeds and post them on this blog. But this phone has proven to be a total challenge. I feel like flinging it against the wall multiple times a day. I've always had an android, and the transition to the completely different i-phone has been so much more difficult than I could have imagined. I am very, very slowly adapting to this new-age phone, and I finally have learned to take relatively good pictures with it. At last I can get back into the flow of blog posts and catch up by presenting two more weeds we have in plentiful quantities at Prairie Hill. They are both plants that we pull up from our native lawns. But as usual, they are also admirable in many ways if you look at them by themselves. And I even have pictures of both of them.

First, there's Black Medic. Here's a picture of it growing out of the crack on one of our sidewalks:

I had never even heard of Black Medic until this year during a weeding party here at Prairie Hill. The name made me assume that it had medicinal properties. What, I wondered, might it cure? But when I read up on it, the best answer to that question appears to be that it can cure bad soil. It's a legume, which means that it has nodules on its roots that fix nitrogen. It often grows in poor nitrogen-scarce soil, but if it grows there awhile, the soil improves. It's related to alfalfa, which I know from my childhood on the farm, and sheep (but not cattle) like to graze on it. However, it does not seem to have medicinal properties for humans. The name comes from a Greek word referring to the geographical area of Media (now in Iran) where it was found. Black Medic seems to have originated in Europe, Asia and Africa, but has become naturalized in the US. It's also related to clover, and has three leaves with small yellow flowers. Bees enjoy the nectar from the flowers and use it to make honey. Often it is found in pastures where it thrives in full sun and doesn't need rich soil. The flower produces a pod containing one seed. The pod does not open when the seed is mature, staying tightly closed and colored black. It's an interesting-looking plant, spreading over the ground or as the picture illustrates, growing in dry areas. And unless you're really looking for it, you might never even notice this interesting plant.

The second weed I'm featuring today is one that also spreads along the ground, and you would definitely notice it! It's called Creeping Charlie and is designated an unregulated invasive species:

Creeping Charlie (also called Ground Ivy) has some similarities to Black Medic. It can grow in poor soil, though since it is not nitrogen-fixing, it doesn't improve the soil. However, it can create a thick ground cover in shady or moist areas. It's a member of the mint family, and if you mow it or walk on it, you may smell that minty refreshing aroma. The stems are square (a characteristic of plants in the mint family), and it grows clusters of purple and blue flowers. It has lush rounded leaves, and spreads underground as well as from seeds. It is suspected that Creeping Charlie emits chemicals that reduce the growth of competitors, so it can rapidly take over an area. Thus it is considered an invasive, and much that is written about it explains how to get rid of it!

However, Creeping Charlie DOES have medicinal uses. It was brought from Europe to North America because of this. Back then it was eaten to cure congestion, inflammation and tinnitus, although today we have discovered that too much of it can damage the liver, irritate the stomach and kidneys and cause miscarriages! Used in moderation, it can be an interesting addition to salads, cooked like spinach, or made into a tea. In the 16th Century it was even used as a preservative in beers! 

Laying aside how these two plants affect humans, when I see them growing in their chosen areas, I find them inspiring. They've found ways to thrive in the world, settling into the right environmental niche and continuing from generation to generation. No doubt their presence makes contributions to all manner of life above and below the soil. And their very vitality (which is why we humans work hard to control them) is something to be admired. Even when I am patiently pulling them up from our native grass lawns, I silently give them a respectful nod.