Fun fact: the name for a weed in my native language is literally "angry grass" :3
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2025
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Unkraut in German. Doesn't deserve to be called a Kraut.
Similar in Norwegian: Ugress. Un-grass.
I've heard one definition of it that I like: The grass that your (grazing) animals won't eat.
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Ogräs in swedish, gräs is herb and the O is like making it not-grass.
Röka gräs is smoking weed though so suddenly it's getting the good treatment.
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So technically all non-Germans are Unkrauts! I‘m incorporating this word.
I know where you are coming from, but as a German calling someone „Unkraut“ has a very dehumanizing sound and was used by nazis to classify people they wanted to murder. Example: https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/6SLYFZ3ZSAWYUJX26V4EXWYGFZBI7ZFH
„However, it would have to become the task of the Inner Mission... to clear God's field of this Unkraut“: women as victims of forced serialisation and "euthanasia" under National Socialism
What happend next is posted daily by https://mastodon.world/@auschwitzmuseum So you might want to skip this.
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In Swedish the prefix for bad stuff is the same as the prefix for not or un-. So a monster is a not-animal and a weed is ungrass. Which is especially interesting to me because that same prefix (o) is for better versions of things in Japanese.
e: This got me thinking about "plant," and I realized it's literally the verb to plant. In Swedish it's a growth, or thing that grew. Japanese and Chinese: planted thing. Spanish is also the same as the verb. I feel kinda bad we mostly talk about them in terms of farming them rather than giving them a proper name. Like if they get sentient someday, plant will probably be considered a slur.
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My definition: aggressive spread and resilience to removal.
Plants that are pretty might get more of a 'pass' than ones which are ugly, poisonous or thorny, but ultimately, even the most beautiful flower becomes a weed when it's suddenly everywhere and you are fighting constantly to get rid of it.
aggressive spread and resilience to remove
Many would argue that mint is an herb. But if you ever had your garden invaded by mint, you'll definitely classify them under weed.
Always plant mint in a pot. And if your neighbour has mint in their garden, you better have a 2m trench filled with concrete between their garden and yours.
60 cm is the actual number, which makes it much too real for me...
I love stumbling across random information like this. I had no idea that mint spread so aggressively - and will likely never need this information. But it's fun to learn.
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aggressive spread and resilience to removal
Humans are a weed.
becomes a weed when it's suddenly everywhere and you are fighting constantly to get rid of it
(Humans! :))
But you are fighting constantly to get rid of it bcs of some arbitrary goals. And the fact it's spreading means that it's perfectly adapted for survival in that environment you created, so it's perfect for that pace.
the fact it's spreading means that it's perfectly adapted for survival in that environment you created, so it's perfect for that pace.
There is such a thing as exotic invasive species that destabilize the local ecosystem, though.
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Just wait until he finds out about "tree"
Any kind of twig that's not a shrub?
A nice one, and not too expensive.
Ni
Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say, "Ni" at will to old ladies!
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In Spanish we call them "malas hierbas"
In German it's "Unkraut" which could either be interpreted as "not herb", "abnormal herb" or "evil herb". Is the range similar in Spanish?
Other than the “not” part, yeah. “Mala” is bad, wrong, evil, wicked, ill, naughty, etc.
(Checked this to confirm before I posted, since it’s been several years since I’ve known Spanish well enough to speak it.)
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My garden is all weeds. Tons of different plants, but some dominate in certain seasons, growing like 5 feet high. Seems to have avoided anything nasty though, no thistles, nettles or brambles.
My neighbour's garden is a thin layer of plastic astroturf. And they let a dog run about on it. Good luck getting dog diarrhoea out of that.
I know which I prefer.
If you are happy with the plants being where they are then they aren't weeds. The main problem is companies that sell plant killing chemicals and services treat the word 'weed' as if it had a universal meaning.
I wish someone had warned me before No Mow May about brambles.
1 shoulder injury and a year later I need chainmail gloves and a fucking flamethrower. I fill my green bin with brambles, by the time it's picked up they've grown back.
The main root is under a shed. I don't know how to eliminate it.
The worst I had to deal with was pampas grass, which appears to be a plant made of actual swords.
I spent three days hacking at it in a coat so I wouldn't get shredded. When I finally cut the root bulb out it was a cube of wood a foot across. I could barely lift it out, I had to roll it to the bin.
At least pampas grass doesn't spread.
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I don’t know if this will work on brambles, but for pesky root systems I’ve had luck with Bonide’s Stump and Vine killer. You cut near the base of one of them, then paint the exposed stem with this stuff. It absorbs into the root system and kills all of it. Works great on pokeweed.
Edit: Turns out this is just a specific brand of triclopyr herbicide like MoonMelon mentioned. So here’s another recommendation for triclopyr!
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The general definition of a weed is "any plant growing where you don't want it to be". A corn plant in a bean field is a terrible weed.
what the hell is a bean field? also beans are great with corn they climb the stalks, also have squash, then boom you have the so called three sisters.
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Yes, this was a real educational technicality fuckup, it seemed sus but everyone was like "don't you know it's a weed"? - "No, no I do not. And you don't even have a field to worry abut crop yields, it's just a lawn & now there is a flower in it, wtf."
I know it's economy (or even sociology), but it's too close to biology not to directly explain it properly.
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Well, "weed" can be a legal definition. A lot of governments have a noxious weed list that either provides for consequences if you suffer that plant on your property, or just an excuse for the government to come on to your property to kill the weeds for you. For instance, Russian Olive is legally a "kill on sight" invasive plant in my area.
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The idea of “weeds” is a colonialist construct.
[with visibly bloodshot eyes] "Nah, man, I disagree with your definition there."
like I know it's a science meme but both the stoner and the linguistics guy inside me go "but wait, there's more..."
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OOP is the author of something like seven published novels, one of which has been adapted into a movie and another of which may soon be made into a streaming series. Never feel embarrassed to say what you learned today.
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i call this the weed paradox.
even though weeds grow unassisted. it is impossible for everyone to grow weeds in their garden. for is they try, they are no longer weeds
A guest on Space Ghost Coast to Coast put it best. "A plant out of place" is a weed, like an insect out of place is a pest. It's a definition that centers ecology and targets invasive species.
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