An interesting note is that I have seen wild lettuce grow almost everywhere including both Afghanistan and the deserts of central California. Wild lettuce is called Lactuca from Latin which is where the English word lactose comes from. Lettuce gives off a thick white latex sap when broken which is a mild relative of heroine.
What Is a Weed?
21–30 of 51 posts
Re: What Is a Weed?
#22Douglas Fir. Not a weed when over 100 years? Definitely a weed when 100s of seedlings sprout in my garden each spring?
Re: What Is a Weed?
#23Re: What Is a Weed?
#24Re: What Is a Weed?
#25This is why I still love the New Yorker: touching on urban foraging, industrial agriculture, native wisdom and Amish people, this article had so many chances to go wrong but ended up being a delightful read.
Re: What Is a Weed?
#26One of the most common weeds in North Texas are various forms of wild lettuce. We have had entire salads picked from weeds in the yard. Less common and less aggressive than wild lettuce are dandelions which taste so much better. An interesting note is that I have seen wild lettuce grow almost everywhere including both Afghanistan and the deserts of central California. Wild lettuce is called Lactuca from Latin which i…
Re: What Is a Weed?
#27This is why I still love the New Yorker: touching on urban foraging, industrial agriculture, native wisdom and Amish people, this article had so many chances to go wrong but ended up being a delightful read.
Agree on this article and it's why I used to love the magazine and was a subscriber for many years. Unfortunately, it got to the point where this kind of content was increasingly rare and I unsubscribed a few years ago.
Re: What Is a Weed?
#28My protests of "that's a native plant!" matter not.
Re: What Is a Weed?
#29I'm about to eat some shelling peas I foraged on the edge of a grass field (yeah, we grow grass seeds as a crop here). The peas were last years crop so not exactly a weed but effectively the same thing.
Re: What Is a Weed?
#30my uncle with an ag degree has always said “a weed is any plant in a place you don’t want it.” I’m getting better at accepting this and moving / pulling things that may be beautiful but have outgrown their spot in my yard.
Who said you can't learn anything from cartoons?