When is a weed not a weed?

An age-old question - but not easily answered. A plant can start by being prized and then become a nuisance; Japanese Knotweed, now a notorious problem, was brought to this country as a handsome addition to the border and Himalayan Balsam was loved for its beauty as a pondside plant.


On the other hand there are plants now much loved which were once scorned as weeds. In her book Wonderful Weeds Madeline Harley writes: 'A number of species included in one or more early 20th Century weed guides are...Wood Anemone, Pasque Flower, Corncockle, Corn Buttercup and Cowslip'  (Harley, 2016). As recently as 1945 John Hutchinson included Corncockle (as Lychnis githago) in his little book Common Wild Flowers (Hutchinson, 1945) although by then it was surely becoming distinctly scarce. A friend of mine recently went to the gardens of Highgrove House and returned home greatly pleased because he had been able to purchase some Corncockle plants.

The Corncockle is a lovely member of the Pink Family, Dianthaceae.

Yet the seeds of Corncockle, Agrostemma githago, are poisonous. The plants were once abundant in crops and would often contaminate bread, especially rye bread, in the Middle Ages. Yet it is now prized and the National Trust is taking pains to include it in its meadows.

These thoughts came to mind as Chris and I wandered around Stefen Hill earlier today.

I once took on an allotment in which Feverfew, Chrysanthemum parthenium, was abundant (No, before you ask, it was not the similar and more usual Scentless Mayweed, Tripleurospermum inodorum). It took a good deal of weeding to eradicate it. And yet feverfew is not a native; it was introduced to Britain as a medicinal plant and is still used in some anti-migraine preparations. Today it is prized also as an annual garden plant, often in its 'double' (flore pleno) form. It was this I saw on our walk, specimens having escaped to behave as a wayside weed. So, it is a desirable plant in a border but a weed when a few metres away. This is surely true of many plants.

The feverfew plants I saw today were partially double but still attracting

insects. Stefen Hill, Daventry. 12 June, 2020 

Leaves of the specimens I saw today were being disfigured by leaf mines, almost certainly the work of Liriomyza tanaceti. This is rather a rare insect in Britain (though common on the continent) so I will not record it until I have further evidence, as there are several similar possibilities.

The leaves were extensively mined. Was it the work of Liriomyza tanaceti?

One hundred metres away a garden lawn was sporting several plants of Orange Hawkweed, Pilosella aurantiaca. This is a pretty plant, a native of the Carpathian Mountains, and was introduced to Britain in the early 17th Century. Metallurgists and goldsmiths will recognise the word aurantiaca as meaning gold, because its atomic symbol is Au. Pilosella means, of course, short hairs - hence the word 'pile'.

Fox and Cubs is a common lawn weed in the Stefen Hill, Daventry, area.

Greyfriars Road, 12 June, 2020

It has a number of popular names including Fox and Cubs and Grim the Collier. The first of these is easy to explain for there is often a fully open tawny flower-head surrounded by several others that are smaller and only partially open. The second name is a puzzle and I can provide no answer.

Close up the flowers are undeniably attractive.

I covet the plant and could easily order some on the internet at up to £6 a time. But it is, around here, a weed in many gardens. I must gather some of the abundant seed and try again.

References

Harley, Madeline 2016 Wonderful Weeds  Papadakis Publications

Hutchinson, John 1945 Common Wild Flowers  Pelican Books