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| Marsh Cudweed; Gnaphalium uliginosum L. |
Sunflower Family; COMPOSITÆ (ASTERACEÆ)
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| Cudweed is minor in every sense of the word. Diminutive sized, of negligible importance ecologically, a pest of mostly
aesthetic objection, it is generally trod upon unconsciously, ignored, or routinely dispatched by gardeners. About it is no romance, no
fascination. You might liken it thus as the antithesis of, say, dandelion or opium poppy. If all cudweeds were to vanish from our realm,
we'd not notice a difference. |
| For such a runt, it is saddled with a frightening scientific name. Although
Gnaphalium uliginosum is really a mouthful at first, when it becomes familiar it is actually euphonious and soothing, a nine-syllable purr, pleasing to utter and to hear. The written
words, though, are still awkward to the eye, especially as uliginosum so easily calls to mind ugliness: an apt recollection. To be fair, uliginosum really refers to marshy habit. This little weed, originally European, has not confined itself to marshy sites since
invading the New World. |
| Cudweed is a summer annual, meaning it sprouts in spring, grows all summer, and dies before winter's brutal onslaught; rising
an inch or several from the soil, branching much, overall of a distinctive grayish color suggestive of a bad powdery-mildew infestation because it is so thickly coated with soft white hairs reminiscent of cotton --and which accounts no doubt for the name cudweed
in allusion to its remarkable chewiness; its minute flowerheads are dingy yellow, seen (or rather
appearing) in June, July, August and September, then turning brown, as the seeds ripen, to scatter about in hope of bringing forth a new generation of similar little
despicable things (from our point of view) next spring. |
| There! You just read a 116-word sentence, the longest ever to appear in the Seattle Tilth newsletter, brought about by my
having been lately luxuriating in the seemingly interminable sentences weaved by Proust. |
| Cudweed grows in sunny waste ground, ditches and roadsides, often forming colonies by seeding prolifically. It needs
sunshine, tolerates poor drainage and some drought, and can be stomped on or otherwise abused with a good deal of resiliency. The worst
that can be said against it, fairly, is that it's an unsightly blemish. In ecologic terms it is better than bare soil. Not a serious pest, it can be easily pulled up. |
| Other names for it are Low Cudweed, Mud Cudweed, and the more natural-sounding Mouse-ear, and Petty Cotton. |
Though not poisonous, since it is
hairy to the highest degree, it is inedible: all chew, no flavor. Its usage in medicine has
been trivial. Seen en masse, it is not necessarily ugly, but at best is "unobjectionable" or "interesting." So, nothing about cudweed is
known to make us tolerate it in our gardens, let alone desire it. I commend it, as I weed it, recognizing that in its being so fuzzy, it is
thereby able to secure a firm foothold against animals who would otherwise eat it, and keeps itself from drying out in baking sun. Clever
we cannot call it, but well-adapted to its role or station in life it is.
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Originally published as the Seattle Tilth newsletter Weed of the Month in November 1993, along with an illustration from a book.
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