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It Needs a Nicer Name!

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It does not seem fair that such a beautiful little weed has so many ugly names. Even the botanical name is ugly: Jacobaea vulgaris. Below, are the equally ugly common names, from

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobaea_vulgaris

"ragwort, common ragwort, stinking willie, tansy ragwort, benweed, St. James-wort, stinking nanny/ninny/willy, staggerwort, dog standard, cankerwort, stammerwort."

 

For reasons given below, I think we should call it "Nectar Weed."

 

It seems that the ugly names are because it is toxic to cattle. On the other hand,

" ...it provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey..."

 

For more on its multifaceted ecological importance, see:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobaea_vulgaris#Ecological_import...

 

Location: Front garden of a neighbor, who purposely reserves part of it for a patch of weeds, Riehen BS Switzerland.

 

In my album: Dan's Weed World

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Uploaded on August 24, 2021
Taken on August 20, 2021