Six Healing Herbs, that are also Spokane Weeds

According to the Noxious Weed Control Board of Spokane County, Washington, noxious weeds "are non-native plants that have been introduced to Spokane County through human actions." They continue to write "Due to their aggressive growth and lack of natural enemies, these species can be highly destructive, competitive, or difficult to control." [1]


So what made humans want to move the plants, either intentionally or unintentionally in the first place?

Dandelions, for example, were brought to North America for their medicinal value, and now they are so widespread they've become a pest to lawn-owners everywhere. The lawn itself though, can thrive off of Dandelions, and Dandelions can thrive in the most unlivable situations, aerating and bringing nutrients to the surface of the soil. Some might say the relationship between dandelions and that grassy field you like to play in is symbiotic, but it is at least a companion plant. [2]

And yes dandelions can be very obnoxious weeds...

Believe it or not Blackberries, the tasty fruit we make into jams, jellies, syrups and pies, is a Class C Weed on the Washington State Noxious weed list. Blackberries were first introduced for food production. [3]

This got me wondering, what am I pulling out of my garden, that I might be able to use? The following is a list of plants that might be of some use to us humans, but grow just a little too well in Spokane:

Before reading please understand this is a guide intended to make a correlation between weed and herb. I am in no way giving you the tools for identification, dosage, or use.

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Found on the weeds of a concern list, St. John's Wort is widely used in herbal medicine.  Being well known for its use to treat depression, it is also used for a wide variety of other mental disorders such as anxiety and insomnia. Being an antibacterial and an anti-fungal, St. John's Wort is used for sprains, swellings, bruises, wounds, sores and ulcers. [4]  The herb gets its name for often times blooming on St. Johns Day, June 24th.

Ox-Eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)

Found on the noxious weed list, not only is the ox-eye daisy used medicinally for menstrual problems, whooping cough, asthma and nervousness, [4] but it can also be an ingredient in wine.

Ox-eye Daisy wine, from the Sorcerers Cookbook:
"For five quarts. 
17 cups daisy flowers 

grated zest of 2 organic oranges 

3 tablespoons raisins 

3 pieces licorice root ... 

6 1/3 cups honey 

2 tablespoons brewers yeast 

watching the clock
preparation: 25 mins.
maceration 10 days
cooking time: 25 mins.
total time: 10 days


To your cauldron! 
Pour 4 quarts boiling water into a large stewpot over freshly picked, rinsed flowers, Let cool and cover. 
Steep for 3 days, stirring morning and night. Strain, pressing the flowers. 
Rinse the stewpot, discard the flowers and return the juice to the pot. Add the orange zest, raisins, and licorice root. 
Bring to a boil. Let boil for 15 minutes then lower the heat.  
Melt the honey in a small pan for 15 minutes over low heat, then add to the pot; stur and let cool slightly. Combine a bit of this liquid with the yeast; once the daisy wine is lukewarm, add the yeast mixture to the stewpot and cover. 
Leave to macerate for 1 week. Strain and bottle. 
Close tightly. " [5]

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

Purple loosestrife is an  "invasive weed in swampy meadows, often forming large stands and blanketing moist meadows in a sea of color."  Research has confirmed that extracts of purple loosestrife has stopped bleeding and had some antibacterial activity. The plant has also been used as an ingredient in external salves for wounds and sores. [4] 

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

Garlic Mustard, which has a strong peppery flavor, is the earliest known culinary use of herbs in Europe. Evidence of garlic mustard used as a culinary herb was found in pottery located in Denmark and Germany dating back to at most 6100 years ago! [6] In 1868 it was brought to Long Island, New York, and now Garlic Mustard is rightfully on the noxious weed list of many counties throughout the Northeast. It displaces the forest understory and is a threat to many native species including wild ginger and toothworts. Toothwarts are the main source of food during the caterpillar stage of the Virginia white butterfly (Pieris virginiensis), an endangered species. The American butterfly (Pieris napi aleracea) typically uses native mustards as hosts for their larvae; however, it has used garlic mustard as a host which kills the larvae. [7]

Absinth Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

That's right, absinthe. Le fee verte, the green fairy. Among anise and fennel, wormwood is the key ingredient for making that supposedly hallucinatory beverage. The constituent, or component of wormwood, thujone, which causes convulsions in high doses, [8] is said to be what causes that hallucinatory yet clear-headed effect of absinthe. [9] Though modern science is saying when you think absinthe is making you high, you're just really drunk. [10] So is wormwood really what drove men mad and caused Van Gogh to chop off his ear? Was it just the alcohol they mixed it with? Or was it possibly a synergistic reaction of the two?

“After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world. I mean disassociated. Take a top hat. You think you see it as it really is. But you don’t because you associate it with other things and ideas.If you had never heard of one before, and suddenly saw it alone, you’d be frightened, or you’d laugh. That is the effect absinthe has, and that is why it drives men mad. Three nights I sat up all night drinking absinthe, and thinking that I was singularly clear-headed and sane. The waiter came in and began watering the sawdust.The most wonderful flowers, tulips, lilies and roses, sprang up, and made a garden in the cafe. “Don’t you see them?” I said to him. “Mais non, monsieur, il n’y a rien.” - Oscar Wilde 

Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

"This herb is Venus's mistress piece and is as gallant and universal a medicine for all diseases coming of heat, in what part of the body soever they be, as the sun shines upon: it is very safe and friendly to the body of man, yet causes vomiting if the stomach be afflicted, if not, purging." - Nicholas Culpeper

Introduced as a medicinal herb, Common Groundsel can cause problems for both livestock and humans. Being permanently hepatotoxic (meaning it causes problems in the liver usually by means of drugs), Common Groundsel is definitely something I personally wouldn't mess with. [11] Even though it is highly toxic to livestock, causing irreversible liver damage, it has been known to "entice a rabbit to eat when all other food has been refused." In folk medicine Groundsel is also known to be a "Diaphoretic, antiscorbutic, purgative, diuretic, and anthelmintic."  Meaning it induces perspiration (good for fevers), it may prevent scurvy, it helps you poo stronger than a laxative, it helps you pee, and it dispels worms. Also Culpeper believed it helped with "falling sickness" otherwise known as epilepsy. [12]