List of beneficial weeds - Wikipedia, the free ency...

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List of beneficial weeds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of undomesticated or feral plants, generally considered weeds, yet having some positive effects or uses, often being ideal as companion plants in gardens. Beneficial weeds can accomplish a number of roles in the garden or yard, including fertilizing the soil, increasing moisture, acting as shelter or living mulch, repelling pests, attracting beneficial insects, or serving as food or other resources for human beings.

Contents
1 Chart 2 Categories of beneficial weeds 2.1 Pest-repellent 2.2 Edible 2.3 Habitat for beneficial insects 2.4 Shelter plants 2.5 Trap crops 2.6 Medicinal use 2.7 Other 3 References 4 See also 4.1 Organic approaches 4.2 Indexes

Chart

Beneficial Weed Chart

Common name Scientific name Companion plant for Attracts/hosts Repels Traps Edibilit

Bashful Mimosa

Mimosa pudica

ground cover for tomatoes, peppers

predatory beetles

Caper Spurge

Euphorbia lathyris

Moles

Clover

Trifolium

Brassica (cabbage and cousins like broccoli and cauliflower), corn, cucurbits (cucumber, squash, melons, gourds) -- Along with fertilizing the soil, this plant provides a humid microclimate that benefits many plants by stabilizing their moisture

Rabbits

This legum is a high-prote source of food, but generally

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only eaten in surviva situations Army worms Attracts/hosts Repels slugs, aphids, carrot fly, cabbage worms[3] Traps Edibilit Can be us like convention chives

Cocklebur Common name

Xanthium
Scientific name

Grasses and grains Companion plant for fruit trees, nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, etc.), brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, etc.) carrots

Allium Crow garlic vineale

Dandelion

Taraxacum

Various grains, tomato plants

Honeybees

Armyworms

In season, leaves and flowers ar edible

Goldenrod

Solidago

Pear trees, Black Locust Tree, Sugar Maple

Predatory wasps

Various Lepidoptera larvae

Ground Ivy

Glechoma hederacea

Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and relatives (squash, melons), broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower

cabbage worms, cucumber worms and beetles, tomato horn worms, others

Can be us in herb te high in vitamin C

Common name

Scientific name

Companion plant for

Attracts/hosts

Repels

Traps

Edibilit The berrie of this frui may be edible whe cooked

Horsenettle

Solanum carolinense

Predatory beetles

Milkweed

Asclepias

Corn, basil, potatoes

Predatory wasps

Wireworms

Nasturtium Tropaeolum

Most vegetables, especially brassica (cabbage, broccoli, Predatory et al.), cucurbits (cucumbers, melons, squash) and wasps solanum (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, etc.)

Squash bugs, cucumber beetles, striped pumpkin beetles,

trap crop for caterpillars and black aphids

All parts o this plant are edible flowers an leaves mak brilliant salad

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woolly aphids

decoration Despite its "sting", young pla parts are edible, as much of th plant whe blanched otherwise prepared. Also make nutritious herb tea

Nettle

broccoli, tomato [1] (http://www.gardenwiseonline.ca Urtica dioica /gw/plants/2009/05/08/stinging-nettle-history-and-uses) , Valarian, mint, fennel

bees

Common name

Scientific name

Companion plant for

Attracts/hosts

Repels

Traps

Edibilit Purslane i eaten throughou much of Europe an Mexico. It contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. It c be eaten i salad, stir-fried, cooked lik spinach. berries ca be eaten l capers

Purslane

Portulaca oleracea

corn, solanums like tomatoes and peppers

Queen Daucus Anne's Lace carota

Nightshades (especially tomatoes), alliums (onions, chives), lettuce

predatory wasps and flies

Young roo are edible

Wild Mustard

Grape vine [3] (http://books.google.com /books?id=mMtlUK0xVhQC&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95& dq=%22companion+plant%22+%22wild+mustard%22& source=bl&ots=_USJmVe83N& sig=yydlrDxcXJ49Fvq_X8QktoUGSI8&hl=en& ei=T4XdS7PSCpPMMo-EtNUH&sa=X&oi=book_result& Ladybugs Brassicaceae ct=result&resnum=4& ved=0CBgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage& q=%22companion%20plant%22%20 %22wild%20mustard%22&f=false) , radish, non-mustard brassica, including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli

Traps various brassica pests, including aphids

Seeds and leaves are edible

Wild Rose

Rosa

Strawberries, grapes, roses

Rodents and deer

Traps Japanese beetles

Rose hips can be use in herb te

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Common name

Scientific name

Companion plant for

Attracts/hosts

Repels

Traps

Edibilit

Wild Vetch

Vicia americana

Pepper and tomato plants, brassica (cabbage, mustard, broccoli), other plants needing high nitrogen

Provides ground cover for predatory beetles

Categories of beneficial weeds

Pest-repellent
Neem -- repels leaf eating insects

Edible
Cornflower various colours; can be served as edible garnish to decorate salads. Painter's brush weed Chickweed -- used in salads and also as ground cover Burdock -- roots are edible Lamb's quarters -- leaves and shoots, raw, also prevents erosion, also distracts leaf miners from nearby crops Shepherd's purse -- leaves are edible and often sauted or blanched Purslane -- prepared raw for salads or sauted Watercress -- can be eaten raw or cooked; is considered a weed in some cultures Horsetail -- primeval plant that produces its own vitamin D & is high in silica; tops are very similar to & may be eaten like asparagus

Habitat for beneficial insects

Wild blackberry -- attracts predatory insects, and produces berries Motherwort -- attracts bees Joe-Pye weed -- habitat for pollinators and predatory insects Aster -- habitat predatory insects

Shelter plants
Normal grass can be used as ground cover, especially in nitrogenous soils.

Trap crops
Trap crops draw potential pests away from the actual crop intended for cultivation. Cowpea -- attracts ladybird beetle, so planting around cotton fields protects them from sucking insects. It serve as source of food and niche.

Medicinal use
Rumex -- Dock, which commonly grows in association with nettle, is rumoured to cure or ease their sting. Crush a leaf before applying to affected area.

Other
Cannabis -- multiple uses including hemp fiber and pulp, hemp seed, hemp oil, and the recreational and medicinal drugs marijuana and hashish. Nightshade -- breaks up hardpan, allowing roots to grow deeper

References
1. ^ Robinson RD, Williams LA, Lindo JF, Terry SI, Mansingh A. (1990). "Inactivation of strongyloides stercoralis filariform larvae in vitro by six Jamaican plant extracts and three commercial anthelmintics". West Indian Medical Journal 39 (4): 2137. PMID 2082565 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2082565) . 2. ^ "Antiproliferative effect of mimosine in ovarian cancer" (http://meeting.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/16_suppl/3200) . Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://meeting.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/16_suppl/3200. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 3. ^ nss abstracts (http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~research/Undergrad_Res/nss97-98/fall1997abs.html)

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4. ^ Rose, Peter et al. ; Widder, S; Looft, J; Pickenhagen, W; Ong, CN; Whiteman, M (2003). "Inhibition of peroxynitrite-mediated cellular toxicity, tyrosine nitration, and 1-antiproteinase inactivation by 3-mercapto-2-methylpentan-1-ol, a novel compound isolated from Allium cepa ". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 302 (2): 397402. doi:10.1016/S0006-291X(03)00193-1 (http://dx.doi.org /10.1016%2FS0006-291X%2803%2900193-1) . PMID 12604361 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12604361) .

Peterson, L.A. & Peterson, R.T. (1999). A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America. HoughtonMifflin. Duke, J.A., Foster, S., & Peterson, R.T. (1999). A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton-Mifflin. Gibbon, E. (1988). Stalking the Wild Asparagus. Alan C. Hood & Company. Sharma, O.P., R.C. Lavekar, K.S. Murthy and S.N. Puri. (2000). Habitat diversity and predatory insects in cotton IPM : A case study of Maharashtra cotton eco-system. Radcliffes IPM world textbook. http:// www.ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/ sharma.htm. Minnesota University, USA

See also
List of companion plants List of repellent plants List of pest-regulating plants Beetle bank List of edible flowers

Organic approaches
Organic farming Organic gardening

Indexes
Category: Agricultural beneficial insects Category: Sustainable agriculture

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