One Man's Weed Is Another's Wildflower

Anything that grows spontaneously, prolifically, and without a name is likely to arouse doubts in an orderly mind. Now doubts are variable in their impact. Doubts can lead to joyous discovery, harmless dismissal, or urgent annihilation. 

"Is that a weed or a plant?" is a question sometimes posed to landscape professionals. Whenever life hangs in the balance, a pause may be in order. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson mulled over the question not far from here, two centuries ago. "What is a weed?" he asked himself, and answered, "a plant whose virtues have never been discovered."

The White Fir stump, April 2021

This spring a prominent patch of dirt appeared where the fir tree had been decapitated by landscape developments at Halibut Point. (see Majesty Crushed) The dirt looked forlorn as the surrounding meadow came to life. Human effort did not provide an immediate improvement. But nature, we know, abhors a vacuum. That truth rings disturbingly in its Latin roots: "Horror vacui." The Greek antecedent has been attributed to Aristotle.

Carey's Smartweed, Persicaria careyi

Finally, summer greenery sprouted spontaneously on the bare soil from invisible seeds. One of the ardent volunteer plants reached 4 feet tall, 6 feet across. It was covered with purple-white flowers in August and September. Carey's Smartweed is its name. 'Smartweed' set off a train of notions in my mind about intelligence.

Honeybee

The Smartweed's flower buds are suffused with rosy violet tones. Once open they become pure white and honeybees sip from their cups. Many other insects are also attracted to the nectar. The flowers are about an eighth of an inch across.

Pure Green-Sweat Bee, Augochlora pura

Thick-legged Hover Fly, Syritta pipiens

Obscure Sap Beetle, Conotelus obscurus

Maize Calligrapher, Toxomerus politus

Crabronidae wasp, Astata unicolor

Great Golden Digger Wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus

Feather-legged Fly, Trichopoda pennipes

The virtues of Smartweed whether encoded or discovered appealed greatly to the late summer insect population of Halibut Point.