What is a Weed?

[Tumbleweed]

Plants provide us with food and fiber, decorate our yards and gardens, and provide habitat for wildlife. However, when plants grow where they are not wanted, we call them weeds. To home owners, weeds may be unwanted plants in lawns or gardens. To farmers, weeds are plants that interfere with raising crops or livestock. To biologists who manage natural areas, weeds are plants that interfere with the functions of natural communities.
Natural area weeds are often exotic plant species (plants whose natural range does not include Florida and were brought here after European contact, about 1500 AD) that have become naturalized (capable of reproducing outside of cultivation).

Invasive exotic plants are weeds that alter the functions and value of natural areas by displacing native species (plants whose natural range included Florida at the time of European contact) and disrupting natural processes such as fire and water flow. Natural area managers must remove invasive exotic plant species to maintain the integrity of natural areas.

edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AG112

In this instance I was reading about the Air Potato which is considered a "weed" for folks in Florida should get rid of but in the Northern states many folks like them in their garden.

So there ya go. If you like it, it's not a weed unless of course your state lists it as a Noxious Weed.

[barb]

To me, a weed is anything that is growing where I don't want it.

I hadn't thought of them in terms of disrupting the natural process of anything beyond my being able to have a nice lawn, nice garden, etc.

[Tumbleweed]

Hey Barb,
I posted pictures of that one big weed I was telling you about. It is in the thread right below this one.