Another fun fact about plant naming conventions: all lettuces* are the same species
*except wild lettuce but nobody really considers that a lettuce. Still, I guess it would be more correct to say all of the food lettuces are the same species.
Irrelevant side quest that I went on while double checking this: DuckDuckGo now forwards some search queries to their chatGPT wrapper, which prompted (pun intended) the following interaction:
More powerful AI says:
No, not all lettuces are the same species, although many commonly consumed lettuces (e.g., iceberg, romaine, butterhead, oakleaf, and leaf lettuce) belong to the same species, Lactuca sativa.
However, some plants commonly called “lettuce” belong to different species or even genera. Examples include:
Lactuca sativa: The typical garden lettuce varieties (iceberg, romaine, butterhead, oakleaf, loose-leaf lettuces).
Lactuca serriola: Wild lettuce, an ancestor to cultivated lettuce.
Valerianella locusta: Corn salad or lamb’s lettuce, commonly consumed as lettuce but from a different genus.
Cichorium endivia: Endive, sometimes called lettuce but technically not in the lettuce genus (Lactuca).
Eruca vesicaria (Arugula or rocket): Often mixed with lettuces but belongs to an entirely different genus and family.
In summary, while most common lettuces belong to a single species (Lactuca sativa), not everything commonly called lettuce or used similarly in salads is botanically the same species or even genus.
Are those actually considered lettuces, though? It’s most likely a cultural thing but none of those are lettuces over here. As in, calling them lettuce would be as far fetched as calling spinach lettuce.
Fun fact: the name for a weed in my native language is literally “angry grass” :3
Unkraut in German. Doesn’t deserve to be called a Kraut.
Similar in Norwegian: Ugress. Un-grass.
I’ve heard one definition of it that I like: The grass that your (grazing) animals won’t eat.
Oh man. I have known this word as the name of an electronica music project for many years. Now I know what it means (never bothered to look it up. )
So technically all non-Germans are Unkrauts! I‘m incorporating this word.
I know where you are coming from, but as a German calling someone „Unkraut“ has a very dehumanizing sound and was used by nazis to classify people they wanted to murder. Example: https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/6SLYFZ3ZSAWYUJX26V4EXWYGFZBI7ZFH
„However, it would have to become the task of the Inner Mission… to clear God’s field of this Unkraut“: women as victims of forced serialisation and “euthanasia” under National Socialism
What happend next is posted daily by https://mastodon.world/@auschwitzmuseum So you might want to skip this.
Um… Ok you might have saved me from a few faux passes.
Happy to help!
I love it, what language is that?
Lithuanian :3
Very :3pilled
:3 and UwU are my personality at this point x3
My definition: aggressive spread and resilience to removal.
Plants that are pretty might get more of a ‘pass’ than ones which are ugly, poisonous or thorny, but ultimately, even the most beautiful flower becomes a weed when it’s suddenly everywhere and you are fighting constantly to get rid of it.
aggressive spread and resilience to remove
Many would argue that mint is an herb. But if you ever had your garden invaded by mint, you’ll definitely classify them under weed.
Always plant mint in a pot. And if your neighbour has mint in their garden, you better have a 2m trench filled with concrete between their garden and yours.
60 cm is the actual number, which makes it much too real for me…
I love stumbling across random information like this. I had no idea that mint spread so aggressively - and will likely never need this information. But it’s fun to learn.
Not only does it spread aggressively through its roots, but it also grafts onto almost anything. The roots connect to other plants and create new hybrid mints.
aggressive spread and resilience to removal
Humans are a weed.
becomes a weed when it’s suddenly everywhere and you are fighting constantly to get rid of it
(Humans! :))
But you are fighting constantly to get rid of it bcs of some arbitrary goals. And the fact it’s spreading means that it’s perfectly adapted for survival in that environment you created, so it’s perfect for that pace.
the fact it’s spreading means that it’s perfectly adapted for survival in that environment you created, so it’s perfect for that pace.
There is such a thing as exotic invasive species that destabilize the local ecosystem, though.
No weed is for plant. Fir animals its pest/vermin.
True. Which still leads to an infestation.
On non-logarithmic scale:
And don’t forget that shown is just the last couple of thousand of years - there are 4 more millions of years prior to this of slow growth (and some collapses) but it wouldn’t even register on such a chart.
Ugh, I guess this is far off topic.
Just wait until he finds out about “tree”
Or “fish”
Or “fruit”
Or ‘vegetable’
Any kind of twig that’s not a shrub?
A nice one, and not too expensive.
Ni
Clean and reasonably priced
i call this the weed paradox.
even though weeds grow unassisted. it is impossible for everyone to grow weeds in their garden. for is they try, they are no longer weeds
The general definition of a weed is “any plant growing where you don’t want it to be”. A corn plant in a bean field is a terrible weed.
what the hell is a bean field? also beans are great with corn they climb the stalks, also have squash, then boom you have the so called three sisters.
Never heard of the battle of the beanfield?
A weed is whatever your HOA says it is.
A HOA is a weed.
Then we go and define things as “invasive” as if the world hasn’t been ever-changing for billions of years. As if we know better and need an environment to remain exactly as we found it, forever. As if nature won’t just fucking figure it out.
As if nature won’t just fucking figure it out.
Nature will figure it out, but it won’t necessarily figure it out in a way that’s good for us (or whatever we want to prevent from going extinct).
This is a terrible take. Just because you imagine that nature will “figure it out” doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still try to good stewards of the environment all the same. In LA where I live, the mustard plants that the Spanish spread take over everything and push out the native wildflowers that native pollinators rely on. Then they dry up in the summer because they’re not meant to be here and provide fuel for fires. It I objectively bad for the environment in every measurable way. And don’t get me started on kudzu. The environment is so fucked up BECAUSE of people like you going “Oh nature will just figure it out”. Do better
California’s general mishandling of nature and natural resources is a great example of what I’m talking about. We don’t have a fucking clue, yet we think we know better, and no lessons get learned despite how clearly wrong our solutions are. Like the wildfires and water “management.”
To be clear, most other states are also run by morons making idiotic natural resource decisions. California’s just a good example since you brought it up.
Another terrible take. And you’re trying to do a motte and bailey here. Your opinions are bad and you should feel bad 👎
Is this fish but with plants?
fish but with plants is trees
get out… are you saying barks have no meaning
barks have the meaning that you agreed upon with your puppy girlfriend :D
deleted by creator
My garden is all weeds. Tons of different plants, but some dominate in certain seasons, growing like 5 feet high. Seems to have avoided anything nasty though, no thistles, nettles or brambles.
My neighbour’s garden is a thin layer of plastic astroturf. And they let a dog run about on it. Good luck getting dog diarrhoea out of that.
I know which I prefer.
I wish someone had warned me before No Mow May about brambles.
1 shoulder injury and a year later I need chainmail gloves and a fucking flamethrower. I fill my green bin with brambles, by the time it’s picked up they’ve grown back.
The main root is under a shed. I don’t know how to eliminate it.
The worst I had to deal with was pampas grass, which appears to be a plant made of actual swords.
I spent three days hacking at it in a coat so I wouldn’t get shredded. When I finally cut the root bulb out it was a cube of wood a foot across. I could barely lift it out, I had to roll it to the bin.
At least pampas grass doesn’t spread.
He’s a bit slow on the uptake
