List of beneficial weeds - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is a list of undomesticated or feral plants, generally considered weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...

s, yet having some positive effects or uses, often being ideal as companion plants in gardens.

Beneficial weed

Beneficial weed

|thumb|right|Clover was once included in grass seed mixes, because of its great benefits to yard healthA beneficial weed is any of various plants not generally considered domesticated, but which nonetheless has some companion plant effect, or else is edible or somehow beneficial...

s can accomplish a number of roles in the garden or yard, including fertilizing the soil, increasing moisture, acting as shelter or living mulch

Living mulch

In agriculture, a living mulch is a cover crop interplanted or undersown with a main crop, and intended to serve the functions of a mulch, such as weed suppression and regulation of soil temperature...

, repelling pests, attracting beneficial insects

Beneficial insects

Beneficial insects are any of a number of species of insects that perform valued services like pollination and pest control. The concept of beneficial is subjective and only arises in light of desired outcomes from a human perspective...

, or serving as food or other resources for human beings.

Chart

Beneficial Weed Chart
Common name	Scientific name	Companion plant for	Attracts/hosts	Repels	Traps	Edibility	Medicinal	Avoid	Comments
Bashful Mimosa	Mimosa pudica	ground cover for tomatoes, peppers	predatory beetles				Its extract immobilizes the filariform larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis Strongyloides stercoralis Strongyloides stercoralis, also known as the threadworm, is the scientific name of a human parasitic roundworm causing the disease of strongyloidiasis.... in less than one hour. In contemporary medicine, Mimosa pudica is being investigated for its potential to yield novel chemotherapeutic compounds. It contains an alkaloid Alkaloid Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids... called mimosine Mimosine Mimosine or leucenol is an alkaloid, β-3-hydroxy-4 pyridone amino acid. It is a toxic non-protein free amino acid otherwise chemically similar to tyrosine, and was first isolated from Mimosa pudica. It occurs in a few other Mimosa spp... , which has been found to have potent antiproliferative and apoptotic effects.		Used as a natural ground cover in agriculture
Caper Spurge	Euphorbia lathyris	Moles					Used in folk medicine as an antiseptic and purgative		Many domesticated animals can eat it, although it's poisonous to humans. Beneficial weeds can accomplish a number of roles in the garden or yard, including fertilizing the soil, increasing moisture, acting as shelter or living mulch, repelling pests, attracting beneficial insects, or serving as food or other resources for human beings.
Clover Clover Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...	Trifolium	Brassica Brassica Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family . The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards... (cabbage and cousins like broccoli and cauliflower), corn, cucurbit Cucurbitaceae The plant family Cucurbitaceae consists of various squashes, melons, and gourds, including crops such as cucumber, pumpkins, luffas, and watermelons... s (cucumber, squash, melons, gourds) -- Along with fertilizing the soil, this plant provides a humid microclimate that benefits many plants by stabilizing their moisture			Rabbits	This legume is a high-protein source of food, but generally only eaten in survival situations		Nightshades Solanum Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon or Cyphomandra are... (tomato, pepper, eggplants)	This legume hosts nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots, and therefore fertilizes the soil for neighboring plants. It is also used as a fallow plant by some farmers, and is a very popular fodder Fodder Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin... plant.
Cocklebur Cocklebur Cockleburs are a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to the Americas and eastern Asia.-Growth:They are coarse, herbaceous annual plants growing to 19.69-47.24 in tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, with a deeply toothed margin. Some species, notably X...	Xanthium	Grasses and grains		Army worm Army worm The Fall Armyworm is part of the order of Lepidoptera and is the caterpillar life stage of a moth. It is regarded as a pest and can wreak havoc with crops if left to multiply. Its name is derived from its feeding habits... s			Is used in Chinese medicine	Poisonous to some lifestock	Also used for yellow dye
Common name	Scientific name	Companion plant for	Attracts/hosts	Repels	Traps	Edibility	Medicinal	Avoid	Comments
Crow garlic	Allium vineale	fruit trees, nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, etc.), brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, etc.) carrots		slugs, aphids, carrot fly Carrot fly The carrot fly is a pest of gardens and farms, and mainly affects the crop of carrots, but can also attack parsnips, parsley and celery.It is a member of the family Psilidae .-Larvae:... , cabbage worms		Can be used like conventional chives	3-mercapto-2-methylpentan-1-ol in onion was found to have an antioxidant potent that inhibits peroxynitrite Peroxynitrite Peroxynitrite is the anion with the formula ONOO−. It is an unstable structural isomer of nitrate, NO3−, which has the same formula but a different structure. Although peroxynitrous acid is highly reactive, its conjugate base peroxynitrite is stable in basic solution... induced diseases.	beans, peas, parsley	This is a wild cousin of onions and garlic
Dandelion	Taraxacum	Various grains, tomato plants	Honeybees	Armyworms		In season, leaves and flowers are edible	Used as a diuretic in herbal medicine		Tap root breaks up hardened soil and brings up nutrients from deep down, benefiting plants with weaker or shallower roots without competing with them.
Goldenrod Goldenrod Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America. There are also a few species native to Mexico, South...	Solidago	Pear trees, Black Locust Tree, Sugar Maple	Predatory wasps	Various Lepidoptera larvae			Numerous medicinal uses		Contains latex, the automobile given to Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial... by Henry Ford Henry Ford Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry... had tires made from goldenrod latex
Ground Ivy	Glechoma hederacea	Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and relatives (squash, melons), broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower		cabbage worms, cucumber worms and beetles, tomato horn worms, others		Can be used in herb tea, high in vitamin C	Used in the traditional medicine of Europe going back thousands of years. Inflammation of the eyes, tinnitus, a diuretic, astringent, tonic and gentle stimulant. See here for more.		This wild mint makes a good ground cover companion plant, creating a humid microclimate, covering up nearby plant scents, and distracting pests from companion crops.
Common name	Scientific name	Companion plant for	Attracts/hosts	Repels	Traps	Edibility	Medicinal	Avoid	Comments
Horsenettle	Solanum carolinense		Predatory beetles			The berries of this fruit may be edible when cooked	Ripe fruit, when cooked, is used by herbalists as a diuretic and sedative
Milkweed	Asclepias Asclepias Asclepias L. , the milkweeds, is a genus of herbaceous perennial, dicotyledonous plants that contains over 140 known species...	Corn Maize Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable... , basil, potato Potato The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species... es	Predatory wasps	Wireworms			Folk remedy for warts, sap reduces poison ivy symptoms		Can be used as a more effective insulator than goose down. Emits a chemical that breaks up hard soil, allowing nearby plants to develop healthier root systems. Basil repels some insects that attack milkweed.
Nasturtium Nasturtium Tropaeolum , commonly known as Nasturtium literally "nose-twister" or "nose-tweaker"), is a genus of roughly 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants and the only genus in the family Tropaeolaceae...	Tropaeolum	Most vegetables, especially brassica (cabbage, broccoli, et al.), cucurbits (cucumbers, melons, squash) and solanum (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, etc.)	Predatory wasps	Squash bug Squash bug Anasa tristis of the family Coreidae is a major pest of squash and pumpkins, and is a vector of the cucurbit yellow vine disease bacterium... s, cucumber beetle Cucumber beetle Cucumber beetle is a common name given to members of two genera of beetles, Diabrotica and Acalymma, both in the family Chrysomelidae... s, striped pumpkin beetles, woolly aphids	trap crop Trap crop A trap crop is a plant that attracts agricultural pests, usually insects, away from nearby crops. This form of companion planting can save the main crop from decimation by pests without the potential issues and controversy involved in using pesticides.... for caterpillars and black aphids	All parts of this plant are edible, flowers and leaves make brilliant salad decoration			Considered one of the "magic bullet" companion plants, benefiting almost any crops around it in some way, and not known to hurt any
Nettle Nettle Nettles constitute between 24 and 39 species of flowering plants of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae, with a cosmopolitan though mainly temperate distribution. They are mostly herbaceous perennial plants, but some are annual and a few are shrubby...	Urtica dioica	broccoli, tomato http://www.gardenwiseonline.ca/gw/plants/2009/05/08/stinging-nettle-history-and-uses, Valarian, mint, fennel	bees			Despite its "sting", young plant parts are edible, as is much of the plant when blanched or otherwise prepared. Also makes a nutritious herb tea	One of the most-used plants in herbal medicine, with a long list of benefits http://www.greenmanpublishing.com/uses_excerpt3.html		Also once grown as a crop for its fiber. Its juice was once used in the place of rennet in cheese-making. It was also a source of "green" for dye. It can still be used as a high-protein additive in animal feed, once dried.
Common name	Scientific name	Companion plant for	Attracts/hosts	Repels	Traps	Edibility	Medicinal	Avoid	Comments
Purslane Purslane Purslane may refer to:* Portulacaceae, a family of succulent flowering plants, and especially:** Portulaca oleracea, a species of Portulaca eaten as a vegetable and considered a weed, known as summer purslane...	Portulaca oleracea	corn, solanums like tomatoes and peppers				Purslane is eaten throughout much of Europe and Mexico. It contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. It can be eaten in salad, stir-fried, or cooked like spinach. berries can be eaten like capers	In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is used to treat infections or bleeding of the genito-urinary tract as well as dysentery. It may also be applied topically to relieve sores and insect or snake bites on the skin.	Dill, parsnip, radish	Breaks up hard soil and hardpan, brings nutrients and water up from deeper than crops can reach, provides healthy ground cover, stabilizing soil moisture
Queen Anne's Lace Queen Anne's lace Queen Anne's lace may refer to the following plants:* Ammi majus* Daucus carota* Anthriscus sylvestris...	Daucus carota	Nightshades (especially tomatoes), alliums (onions, chives), lettuce	predatory wasps and flies			Young roots are edible	Some recent scientific support for its historic use as a herbal contraceptive	Dill, parsnip, radish	Do not confuse with its poisonous cousin, water hemlock
Wild Mustard	Brassicaceae	Grape vine http://books.google.com/books?id=mMtlUK0xVhQC&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=%22companion+plant%22+%22wild+mustard%22&source=bl&ots=_USJmVe83N&sig=yydlrDxcXJ49Fvq_X8QktoUGSI8&hl=en&ei=T4XdS7PSCpPMMo-EtNUH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22companion%20plant%22%20%22wild%20mustard%22&f=false, radish, non-mustard brassica, including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli	Ladybugs		Traps various brassica pests, including aphids	Seeds and leaves are edible		beets	Domesticated mustard is a hybrid of three different species of wild mustard, all of which are still used in some places for food. This is known as the Triangle of U Triangle of U The Triangle of U is a theory about the evolution and relationships between members of the plant genus Brassica. The theory states that the genomes of three ancestral species of Brassica combined to create three of the common contemporary vegetables and oilseed crop species... .
Wild Rose Wild Rose Wild Rose is the name given to certain flowering shrubs:Genus Rosa:* Rosa acicularis, or Wild Rose, a rose species which occurs in Asia, Europe, and North America...	Rosa	Strawberries, grapes, roses		Rodents and deer	Traps Japanese beetles	Rose hips can be used in herb tea	Same medicinal benefits as domesticated rose		This includes the feral multiflora rose Multiflora Rose Rosa multiflora is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in China, Japan and Korea.... , brought to the US http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/romu.htm both for use as root stock for domesticated roses, and as a "natural fence" for lifestock. In the mid 20th century miles of multiflora rose hedge were planted in sequence.
Common name	Scientific name	Companion plant for	Attracts/hosts	Repels	Traps	Edibility	Medicinal	Avoid	Comments
Wild Vetch Vicia americana Vicia americana is a species of legume in the vetch genus known by the common names American vetch and purple vetch. It includes a subspecies known as mat vetch. It is a climbing perennial forb that grows from both taproot and rhizome. The leaves are each made up of oblong leaflets and have...	Vicia americana	Pepper and tomato plants, brassica (cabbage, mustard, broccoli), other plants needing high nitrogen	Provides ground cover for predatory beetles						This legume fixes nitrogen, allow it to grow in a tomato garden only until time to plant, as ground cover. But can be left growing among brassica for additional nitrogen and microclimate

Edible

Cornflower
Cornflower
Centaurea cyanus is a small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. "Cornflower" is also erroneously used for chicory, and more correctly for a few other Centaurea species; to distinguish C...

various colours; can be served as edible garnish to decorate salads.
Painter's brush weed
Chickweed
Chickweed
Chickweed, a common name, can refer to:* Cerastium - Mouse-ear Chickweed* Holosteum - Jagged Chickweed* Moenchia - Upright Chickweed* Paronychia - Chickweed* Stellaria pro parte - Chickweed...

-- used in salads and also as ground cover
Burdock
Burdock
Burdock is any of a group of biennial thistles in the genus Arctium, family Asteraceae. Native to the Old World, several species have been widely introduced worldwide....

-- roots are edible
Lamb's quarters -- leaves and shoots, raw, also prevents erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

, also distracts leaf miner
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...

s from nearby crops
Shepherd's purse
Shepherd's Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris, known by its common name shepherd's-purse because of its triangular, purse-like pods, is a small annual and ruderal species, and a member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family...

-- leaves are edible and often sautéed or blanched
Purslane
Purslane
Purslane may refer to:* Portulacaceae, a family of succulent flowering plants, and especially:** Portulaca oleracea, a species of Portulaca eaten as a vegetable and considered a weed, known as summer purslane...

-- prepared raw for salads or sautéed
Watercress
Watercress
Watercresses are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings...

-- can be eaten raw or cooked; is considered a weed in some cultures
Horsetail
Horsetail
Equisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.Equisetum is a "living fossil", as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and...

-- primeval plant that produces its own vitamin D & is high in silica; tops are very similar to & may be eaten like asparagus

Habitat for beneficial insects

Wild blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...

-- attracts predatory insects, and produces berries
Motherwort
Motherwort
Motherwort is a herbaceous perennial plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Other common names include Throw-wort, Lion's Ear, and Lion's Tail. The latter two are also common names for Leonotis leonurus. Originally from Central Asia it is now found worldwide, spread largely due to its use as a...

-- attracts bees
Joe-Pye weed
Joe-Pye weed
Eutrochium fistulosum , also called Joe-Pye weed, Trumpetweed, or Purple thoroughwort, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern North America, in southeast Canada and throughout the eastern and central United States.It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.5-3 m ...

-- habitat for pollinators and predatory insects
Aster -- habitat predatory insects

Shelter plants

Normal grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

can be used as ground cover, especially in nitrogenous soils.

Trap crops

Trap crop

A trap crop is a plant that attracts agricultural pests, usually insects, away from nearby crops. This form of companion planting can save the main crop from decimation by pests without the potential issues and controversy involved in using pesticides....

s draw potential pests away from the actual crop intended for cultivation.

Cowpea
Cowpea
The Cowpea is one of several species of the widely cultivated genus Vigna. Four cultivated subspecies are recognised:*Vigna unguiculata subsp. cylindrica Catjang...

-- attracts ladybird beetle, so planting around cotton fields protects them from sucking insects. It serve as source of food and niche.

Medicinal use

Rumex
Rumex
The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex L., are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae....

-- Dock, which commonly grows in association with nettle, is rumoured to cure or ease their sting. Crush a leaf before applying to affected area.

Other

Cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...

-- multiple uses including hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

fiber and pulp, hemp seed, hemp oil
Hemp oil
Hempseed oil is pressed from the seed of the hemp plant irrespective of the strain of cannabis. Cold pressed, unrefined hemp oil is dark to clear light green in color, with a pleasant nutty flavor. The darker the color, the grassier the flavour....

, and the recreational and medicinal drugs marijuana and hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...

.
Nightshade
Solanaceae
Solanaceae are a family of flowering plants that include a number of important agricultural crops as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...

-- breaks up hardpan
Hardpan
In soil science, agriculture and gardening, hardpan or ouklip is a general term for a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water...

, allowing roots to grow deeper