How do you tell the difference between a weed and a flower?

Lets face it, some "weeds" are actually pretty and look like it would make a nice decor. Where I live, we have a few different types, though I am not sure what the correct name is for them. They have the typical green stem, and they are purple and tan. How can you look at a plant and tell if it is a flower or weed?

 

. Good question. These are our herbs growing in back of the house. There is basil, thyme, rosemary, and parsley. The flowering one is chives, and the tall scraggly thing that looks almost dead is mulane. The mulane had pretty blooming yellow petals on top last month. It isn't an herb, but the leaves can be boiled and when the vapors inhaled, is great for asthma, bronchitis, and serious chest congestion. Believe me if I could get a buzz from it .,*&#! Yeehaw, but no it won't do that, I wouldn't anyhow. I just always thought these were weeds to. We had some lemon balm, but it start taking over the neighborhood.

 

A lot of "weeds" are actually useful. For example, common plantain that is good for big bites and other skin irritations. I make an oil infusion out of leaves and put it into a balm... Dandelion, chickweed, and others have uses.

Can you post a picture?

Weed vs plant is perception imo lol. I don't bother with weeding unless I have a seedling growing that's about to be suffocated.

Now, knowing what's dangerous or not is a different story lol. As well as grass. I'd rather have a bunch of plants than grass but I'm required to have grass where we live right now...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Last spring on a river camping trip with my nephew, I slipped and fell into some stinging nettle. When I text my wife what I should do, she replied to pick some plantain, chew it and rub it on my arm. She has showed me what it looked like, but I was a little skeptical about chewing on something that I wasn't sure about.

 

Indeed!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

First Aid [Wilderness Model] tells us to wash the infected area with water, wash thoroughly with soap and then gently rub a tad of skin cream.

 

Yesterday I cut off several of these "weeds", they can be pretty indeed, is a shame I don't have a journal with me anymore or at least have a botanical background to recognize them. But anyway, what I certainly can say about it is that, they grow pretty fast and big and can thrive even despite of growing within a rock's surface or a layer of mortar; and they can take over the place and steal the nutrients from your other plants.

 

You are right with your attitude that will keep you from getting poisoned. Never put anything in your mouth if you are not sure that it is edible or safe. Remember that children are poisoned by dirt of bacteria because they tend to be putting things in their mouth. We actually need not know all the type of vegetation that grow in the wild. Just the important herbs and plants will do us good especially for food and medical treatment.