Winter Weed Eve

All righty then. To kick off our holiday, Imbolc, the Winter Weed Festival, we shall think positively about all the winter weeds. Winter weed number one, basal rosette mode, is (Silybum marianum) or Mary’ milk thistle. In the picture it is habitating on a pile of fill dirt in a parking lot. The Bic auto pencil is there for scale.

What can I say, positive. Er. If this Mary’s milk thistle was not habitating on the fill dirt, some other introduced winter weed might be on that same spot instead of Mary’s milk thistle. Another positive is that this Mary’s milk thistle is not at the CB. Er. However, we have been thinking about cultivating some thistles, just not this one.

Winter weed number two, basal rosette mode, is (Centaurea melitensis) or Malta star thistle. It seems to be in all the roadside re-vegetation seed mixes used in these parts. Not only is Malta star thistle a winter weed, but it is also a sidewalk crack weed and a pavement crack weed in general. In these capacities it affords shade to whatever may get under it and whatever is seeking to find some shade in a parking lot. Of course, the shade seeker must be fairly short to get under it. Actually, this one is extraordinarily big, considering its in a parking lot crack plus the time of year.

Both these introduced thistles sport sharp prickles on one or another of their body parts. That’s positive because it keeps people from handling them too familiarly.

There you have it, Winter Weed Festival kicked off on a positive note. Oh, Rayetta wanted me to mention that if you stare at the Mary’ milk thistle too long, you may become discombobulated.

And Crumby found a Psocopteran instar far along toward having functional wings. Where’d you find this one Crumby?

Helianthus annua receptacle, Ray.

All righty then.