A weed is not a botanical term it has been created by the common man. It has been used to describe a plant that grows over another and is considered to be a pain. It is a term normally used to refer to plants that are of no use in man made settings like a lawn, garden or in other agriculture areas and they are also found in natural areas. To be more specific weed is the term used to differentiate native or nonnative plants that reproduce and grow at a very rapid phase. It is considered to be a nuisance because it limits the growth of the other plant that it is growing on by blocking the sunlight, the nutrients from the soil are used up, or they may facilitate the growth and spreading of pathogens that affects the quality of the plants in a negative way. They will have thorns or prickles which get attached to your clothes and if it comes in contact with your skin it can also cause irritation.
This same nature of aggressive growth and rapid reproduction also gives them advantage over the other desirable plants. They have seeds that persists in the soil seed bank for years together or the ones that have multiple generations growing in the same season have short life span. The perennial type of weeds has underground stems often which spread out under the soil surface or has creeping stems that helps to spread out over the ground. Some of these weeds have developed allelopathy, which is to prevent germination or growth of the neighboring plants by means of a chemical. Some weeds are edible like the dandelion taraxacum. The leaves and roots of these leaves can be used to prepare certain dishes and also can be used as herbal medicine. They also help in breaking the hardpan in overly cultivated areas which allows the other crops to grow deeper root systems. Dandelions would be the best example for this and that’s why they are found mostly in lawns. They can be used for healing purposes and also different kind of crafting can be done with them.
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