Have you seen any of these plants near you?

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Here is some Liz-foot by some birds-foot trefoil! (Aka Birdfoot DeerVetch, aka Lotus corniculatus.) You’ve probably seen this yellow flower by a sidewalk near you – it’s an aggressively spreading invasive weed in the pea family that was introduced to the US as a forage crop and now spreads happily in disturbed soils. It displaces native plants (which is especially a problem when it leaves its sidewalks and heads into prairies) but is a nectar source for some bees and butterflies (altho mostly non native species.) Fun facts: in some areas it’s called “eggs and bacon.” It was popular as a forage crop because it is “nonbloating.” Its flowers contain a small amount of hydrogen cyanide and can be chewed as a mild sedative. #sidewalkplantlab #plantappreciationlab #sidewalkplants #invasiveplants #urbanecology

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Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) gets a bad rap. It tends to take over people’s lawns, creeping (as its name would imply) across surfaces and pushing grass aside. It’s an invasive species in the US, introduced from Europe, but I still kind of have a soft spot for it. A member of the mint family, it smells awesome. It grows in the shade, retaining moisture and reducing erosion in places where grass doesn’t grow well. And earlier in the summer it’s covered in tiny purple flowers, which are a good food source for bees. Still – native flowers are better / don’t purposely plant this anywhere! #sidewalkplantlab #urbanecology #sidewalkplants #creepingcharlie #backyardbotany

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Pardon my perpetually dirty fingernails, but check out these plantain leaves! (No relation to the tasty banana-y plantain.) You probably see these, step on these, idly rip these apart, constantly. There’s actually both a common introduced species from Europe – the broadleaf plantain, or Plantago major, aka “white man’s footsteps” (on the left) – and an even MORE common native species – Rugel’s Plantain, or Plantago rugelii (on the right.) The native one has those awesomely purple stems. Either way, these plants have incredible medicinal properties, are edible, and grow (and thus prevent erosion) where basically nothing else will. #sidewalkplants #sidewalkplantlab #urbanecology #plantago #broadleafplantain

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