Evening Primrose
You may not think that something with such a highfalutin name as Evening Primrose (Oenothera) could be a City Plant. But don’t be fooled, this herbaceous flower is no shrinking […]
Black Locust
The Black Locust (Ceratonia siliqua) received its somewhat erroneous nomenclature from William Strachey, a member of the Third Supply mission to Jamestown. Before encountering this piece of local flora however, the mission’s ship, Sea Venture, wrecked on the coast of Bermuda in 1609
American Pokeweed
While most City Plants originate from elsewhere, American Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, has the distinction of being from this particular neck of the woods. As such it was widely used by […]
Queen Anne’s Lace
Before carrots were presented as shadows of their former selves in hermetically sealed bags labeled “baby,” they ran wild, and still do. You probably wouldn’t recognize Daucus Carota as carrot […]
Japanese Knotweed
Judging by the news, you may think that Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is staging an all out assault on England with the goal of total and complete occupation. And you’d […]
Tree of Heaven
Let’s just be real. The Tree of Heaven, ailanthus altissima, is a badass.
Mullein
In 322 BC Aristotle noted the exceptionally useful employment of mullein (verbascum thapsus) as a piscicide (fish poison) in his Historia Animālium. Gabriel Garcia Marquez also noted this use in Love in the time of Cholera 2307 years later.
Woody Nightshade
If you were to ask the scientific historian and nature writer Neltje Blanchan about Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), you may have received a poem in return.
Common Purslane
How Portulaca Oleracea (Common Purslane) arrived to the New World is a mystery. For most of botanical history it was assumed to have been brought sometime after Cristoforo Colombo arrived […]
Dandelion
Of course such a thing couldn’t stand for long and so Hecate, the goddess of the knowledge of herbs fed the heroic Theseus Taraxacum (dandelion) greens for 30 days before sending him into the monster’s maze.
Mugwort
Artemisia vulgaris tastes good in beer, but that’s not how it got its common name, Mugwort. More of that later. Drinks first.
Princess Tree
Originating in central and western China, the Princess Tree (Paulownia tomentosa), is often unsurprisingly described in both orientalist and misogynistic terms: showy, aggressive, ornamental, persistent, exotic, and invasive. The Princess Tree is my personal hero.
City Plants 