This clock won't tell time

Species name: Thunbergia grandifolia

Common name: clockvine

Location: Dominican Republic

One day my mom and I went on an excursion that drove all around the countryside and visited a traditional house and farm in the middle of nowhere (and what a beautiful middle of nowhere it was!). We got to walk all around the house and look at the gardens, and they led us through their "agricultural plot" behind the house that had a lot of traditional Dominican food growing. This was one of the plants that was being used as an ornamental species in one of the gardens of the home, and I bet it won't be long before they regret planting it. The clockvine is native to China, India, Nepal and Burma where it grows like a weed. It is capable of living happily in any tropical habitat, loves both very soggy soils and dry, arid soils, can tolerate full sun as well as full shade, and other plants in the garden are the least of its troubles. In some tropical areas of the world, like tropical Australia, it has taken "invasive weed" to a whole new level. It is nearly impossible to eradicate because of its successful growth from either seeds or underground rhizomes, and so it will likely destroy all of the native habitat is has grown into before snuffing itself out.

Since this vine is such a beautiful flowering vine, it's no surprise that it's popular around the world for its ornamental value. In fact, almost every species of the genus is prized for their flowers and very fast growth (as well as the ability to tolerate almost every environmental condition that is thrown at it; including light snow for some species!). Unfortunately, this means that this vine has become invasive on all continents, everywhere it has successfully grown. Something needs to be done to ban the sale of these plants!

There are also studies that are currently looking at what to do with these vines, since they're already in numerous locations around the world in gardens (where they are relatively easy to control as long as you have garden shears and some time on your hands) and have since escaped cultivation. There was the suggestion that these plants would make excellent biofuels since they grow so quickly and are so tolerant of environmental fluctuations, but I'm not sure if anything has been done about this suggestion. They are most definitely "sustainable" in the traditional sense, but at what price? Once we harvested all of the plants that are growing in wild areas, then what? Do we plant more of them and risk them escaping again? Using highly invasive species for biofuels (either fermenting parts of the plant to produce bioethanol or just burning the plants directly to produce energy) is a very fine line to walk between rehabilitating an ecosystem and encouraging its complete destruction.

I hasta have this Shasta Daisy!

Species name: Leucanthemum x superbum

Common name: Shasta daisy

Location: Ontario

The Shasta daisy is a common garden plant that's a special hybrid cultivar (in this case, probably the most common cultivar which is 'Becky') created through traditional breeding for larger flowers. Most members of the Leucanthemum genus are native to Europe and northern Asia, and this hybrid is no exception. Where it has been planted in North America it has taken off, spreading readily into prairie habitats and becoming an invasive weed. You can find this species (and both of the plants from which the hybrid is created, L. lacustre and L. maxiumum, as well as the oxeye daisy or L. vulgare) on the noxious weed list of many provinces in Canada and many states in the USA. Each "flower" of the daisy isn't actually a flower at all; it's a group of flowers (an inflorescence). Each yellow dot of the disc part of the inflorescence is a flower itself, called a disc floret. Each white "petal" of the inflorescence is also a flower, called a ray floret.

Interestingly enough, this flower has a terrible odor. That fact in and of itself isn't all that interesting, since many plants have terrible odors. The interesting fact is that this flower is still so popular not just as a landscaping plant, but also as a plant used in flower arrangements. Most people wouldn't think of taking the odor at the bottom of a dirty garbage can and rubbing it all over carnations to make their arrangement smell nicer, so the fact that these flowers are used at all is somewhat mind-boggling. Also interesting is that some people seem not to be bothered by the smell. There's probably some sort of genetic basis to that, but I'm not sure if it has been investigated at any length.

Aside from its obvious ornamental use, this plant also has an interesting culinary use in some areas in Europe. When the flower bud appears on the plant but has not yet opened, they can be picked and pickled in a manner similar to capers (or cucumber pickles for that matter) and used in much the same way. Since I absolutely detest the smell of these flowers, I sure hope the pickling could cover the odor!

The phytolace sewn by Queen Anne

Species name: Daucus carota

Common name: Queen Anne's lace, wild carrot

Location: Ontario

Queen Anne's lace is native to Europe and parts of northern Asia, although it is now considered naturalized in North America and an integral part of a prairie landscape. This doesn't, however, mean that it can't be invasive still; there are certain instances where it is a better competitor than native species and so the USDA has listed it as a noxious weed. The common name of this plant, Queen Anne's lace, is derived from the look of the flower: it is a type of inflorescence called a compound umbel, and at most stages of its development it looks like lace. The purpleish-red flower at the very centre of the inflorescence acts as a pollinator attractant, but is also said to be the drop of blood from where Queen Anne pricked her finger while making the lace.

The wild carrot has been domesticated into a subspecies of plant that we now use as the cultivated carrot. The genes that produce beta-carotene have been selected for over-production, so the cultivated carrot is orange compared to its white wild relative. The carrot is a biennial plant, which means it completes its life cycle over two growing seasons (in Canada, this would be two years since we have winter). The leaves appear the first year, photosynthesizing and making sugars to be stored in the taproot, the carrot, as starch. The plant then uses this stored starch to create a new shoot the next year which produces a flower and then seeds.

In agriculture, there are certain circumstances where this plant is actually a beneficial weed. The flowers attract wasp pollinators, which can benefit other plants surrounding it. When Queen Anne's lace is planted in tomato fields, the tomato yield increases over fields that don't have it. Not a bad idea for increasing yield chemical-free! There are some dangers to this plant, however. It has a wild relative that is also a look-alike called poison hemlock which can cause death to humans with consumption of only 6 or 7 leaves. The most famous victim of this poisoning is, of course, Socrates. Even without the poisonous plant confusion, wild carrot on its own can be harmful. The leaves contain chemicals which can cause severe light sensitive areas (burning, blistering, and extreme itching upon contact with sunlight) on the skin if you're especially sensitive to the chemical; if you're not as sensitive then it will just cause an itchy rash.

Medicinally, this plant was popular in the time of Hippocrates 2,000 years ago. He reported that this plant should be used as a contraceptive, and it was used for such a purpose for hundreds of years. The seeds were crushed, and the powdery substance was consumed. It was shown relatively recently that there are chemicals in the seeds of this species that do disrupt egg implantation, so I'm sure it would have been at least partially effective in the time of Hippocrates (and now). There is also some evidence to show it disrupts progesterone synthesis, which could also explain its potential effectiveness as a contraceptive. Very little mention is made of exactly how many seeds one would have to consume to get any noticeable effect.