Plant Story--St. John's Wort, Klamath Weed, Hypericum perforatum

Today, you mostly hear of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum, St. Johns wort family, Hypericaceae) as a medicinal plant. It has been shown to be effective treating depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders and is widely used for those. But when I studied ecology in graduate school in the 1970s, under its American name, Klamath weed, it was the weed in a major weed-control story. So here are both tales.

St. John's wort, Klamath weed, Hypericum perforatum

Plant Story: The dreadful field bindweed

Sprouting field bindweed

April 28, 2013. Bindweed!  The bindweed in my yard is up!

field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis

   Bindweed is the bane of gardeners along the Rocky Mountain Front Range, more than crab grass, more than dandelions. 

     Field bindweed, Convolulus arvensis, is a deep-rooted perennial vine. 

      It spreads. 

      It comes back after being pulled up. 

    I wage a war against bindweed all summer, every summer. No bindweed flowers are allowed to produce seeds in my yard. And I pull up the vines when I see them. Over and over.

    I want to believe that I have made some progress. Only two or three small plants remain in my front yard. The back yard has a lot farther to go to be bindweed-free, however, and a quick look on the 28th found dozens of new shoots just breaking the soil. It snowed all day May 1, perhaps 10” and the snow was still deep on May 2. The cold will slow them, but the war with the bindweed is on again for 2013.

May 1 snow

    I try to give every plant its due. Generally I let one grow somewhere in my yard and weed out all the rest of the seedlings of that species. For example, one maple seedling is turning into a nice tree, one mullein is allowed in a secluded corner, one invading sumac can have a spot by the fence. Not bindweed. After considering letting them decorate the wood pile, I decided that they could grow throughout the rest of Colorado, but not in my yard.