A Pondering Question

What makes a “weed” a “weed”? I often ponder this question, especially when spring arrives and the many new shoots begin to sprout up all around us.

One definition is “a weed is any plant of a wild nature that grows in areas controlled by humans, such as crops or gardens, and whose presence is undesirable.” Hmm. I am sorry, but as a nature lover, that definition just doesn’t seem good enough.

A characteristic that makes a “weed” a “weed” is “they produce a lot of seeds. Seeds that can sometimes survive for a very long time in the soil.” Hmm. So a trait we suddenly deem undesirable based on the specific plant, because not many humans I know feel that way about the seeds from flowers, like say a sunflower! 

Sunflower

So, basically, if a human doesn’t like something, apply a negative word to it and get rid of the culprit.

Critters often face this same dilemma. Take the mountain beaver for instance. The most primitive living rodent alive today. They are the only member of their biological family and have survived practically unchanged for 40,000 years. Notorious diggers just doing what they were created to do. Now build a house right next to where the mountain beaver has made his home, add a few humans and now we have a “pest”.  (Disclaimer: Except for this human who has never considered mountain beavers, or any other critter for that matter, to be a pest).

What makes a “pest” a “pest”? One definition says “a pest is any organism that spreads disease, causes destruction or is otherwise a nuisance.”

Okay, diseases aren’t great and either are toxic plants, but once again the rest can be left up to interpretation. If we take over a critter’s territory and they try desperately to survive doing what they do, is that really destructive behavior or being a nuisance? Just because we decide we don’t like it? I bet the odds are pretty high they didn’t like us moving into their territory and taking over everything. Who’s the “pest” now?!

Why am I fixated on this? I spent this morning with a neighbor digging up Poison Hemlock. A plant with beautiful lacey leaves, much like the leaves of a carrot of which it is related. A plant that was introduced from Europe as a garden plant due to its attractive flowers. Just so happens, Poison Hemlock has its name for a very good reason — it is one of the most toxic plants in the world!!!

It is believed that Socrates died by drinking an executioner’s cup of poisonous hemlock. But in the plant’s defense, it is only toxic if you ingest it. That goes for humans and animals alike. But if it is growing wild, doing what it does naturally, is it dangerous? Only if something ingests it. In our case, a neighborhood setting with little kids and a lot of dogs and critters didn’t seem like the ideal spot for this plant to take root. After consulting with the County website on noxious weeds, we thought it best to pull the few plants before they went to seed (probably millions of seeds!) spreading uncontrollably.

I didn’t enjoy this task. I never like to kill anything. I will catch a spider and relocate it outside. I even release stink bugs. So tearing a plant from its home is not something I take lightly. But we did it. As customary for me when approaching yardwork and trimming, I talk to the plants. Yes, I talk to plants and I am proud to admit it! I explained what we were going to do and why. Why this particular area just wasn’t the best place for it to put down roots. So technically, by that explanation, it was clearly a weed and we were just weeding.

After we were done I couldn’t help but wonder what Poison Hemlock was good for. Everything, and I mean everything, has a purpose. Surely, its only purpose cannot be to kill. Could it?

As I looked into this further, turns out Poison Hemlock is used to make medicine. Yes, of course! Plants have been used to develop drugs for eons. Approximately 70,000 species have been screened for their potential use as medicines. Forty percent of the drugs found behind a pharmacist’s counter in the Western world are derived from plants that people have been using for centuries.

The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of the world’s population (or 4 billion people) currently use herbal medicine for some of their health care needs. In the U.S., about 30% of the population use herbal remedies.  

Poison Hemlock

As for Poison Hemlock, it is used for breathing problems like bronchitis, whooping cough and asthma. And are you ready for this? For painful conditions like teething in children! As well as swollen or painful joints and cramps. Now clearly there is a formula to the medicinal use of Poison Hemlock because simply picking part of the plant and ingesting it is deadly.

So please do not ingest any part of a Poison Hemlock if you happen to come across it. 

I think this helps show how everything has a purpose and brings value to life. Where humans make our mistake is not taking the time to understand the plant or critter. 

Granted, some circumstances cannot be avoided, but if we all had a little more tolerance of those things we don’t understand, the world would be a richer more diverse and congenial place.


 References:

• USDA Medicinal Botany
• Mount Sinai (Herbal Medicine)