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This is a list of undomesticated or feral plants, considered weeds, yet having some positive effects or uses, often being ideal as companion plants in gardens.

Beneficial weeds can be classed in a number of categories.

Contents 1 Categories of Beneficial Weeds 1.1 Pest-repellant 1.2 Edible 1.3 Habitat for beneficial insects 1.4 Shelter plants 1.5 Trap Crops 1.6 Medicinal use 1.7 Other 2 References 3 See also

[edit] Categories of Beneficial Weeds

[edit] Pest-repellant

• Crow garlic -- a wild allium which repels certain insect pests and is edible
• Cocklebur -- repels armyworms
• Goldenrod -- repels some bad insects and shelters several useful predatory species
• Milkweed -- repels wireworms
• Caper Spurge -- believed to repel moles
• Neem -- repels leaf eating insects

[edit] Edible

• Cornflower various colors; can be served as edible garnish to decorate salads.
• Painter's brush weed
• Chickweed -- used in salads and also as ground cover
• Burdock -- roots are edible
• Lamb's quarters -- leaves and shoots, raw, also prevents erosion, also distracts leaf miners from nearby crops
• Shepherd's purse -- leaves are edible and often sauted or blanched

• Stinging nettle -- High nutritional value. Used like spinach.
• Purslane -- prepared raw for salads or sautéed
• Watercress -- can be eaten raw or cooked; is considered a weed in some cultures
• Dandelion -- flowers can be used to make wine; leaves are edible and good for digestion; roots sometimes used as coffee substitute
• Wild Mustard-- leaves and flowers can be eaten raw in salads.

[edit] Habitat for beneficial insects

• Clover -- attracts predatory insects, also good for soil
• Solanum -- provides cover for predatory ground beetles which hunt aphids
• Pigweed / Amaranthus -- also shelters ground beetles, breaks up hard soil, allowing other plants to develop deeper roots
• Queen Anne's lace -- attracts predatory insects like lacewings, its seeds contain estrogen and are used in folk/herbal medicine as a contraceptive, and its root breaks up hard soil/deadpan.
• Wild blackberry -- attracts predatory insects, and produces berries
• Motherwort -- attracts bees
• Wild mustard -- protects predatory insects
• Joe-Pye weed -- habitat for pollinators and predatory insects
• Aster -- habitat predatory insects

[edit] Shelter plants

• Normal grass can be used as ground cover, especially in nitrogenous soils
• Purslane -- can be used to protect soil from erosion

[edit] Trap Crops

Trap crops draw potential pests away from the actual crop intended for cultivation

• Multiflora Rose -- distracts Japanese beetles from good crops (This is a non-native invasive species in North America - see link )
• Nasturtium -- attracts caterpillars and aphids, so planting them alongside or around vegetables such as lettuce or cabbage will protect them, as the egg-laying insects will tend to prefer the nasturtium.
• Mustard -- attracts aphids, so planting around cabbages protects them. It also attracts ladybird beetles to multiply and spread from there.
• Cowpea -- attracts ladybird beetle, so planting around cotton fields protects them from sucking insects. It serve as source of food and niche.

[edit] Medicinal use

• Bashful mimosa -- various herbalist uses
• Rumex -- Dock, which commonly grows in association with nettle, is rumoured to cure or ease their sting. Crush a leaf before applying to affected area.

[edit] Other

• Cannabis -- clothes can be made out of hemp, as well as a form of paper both cheaper than and superior to wood-pulp paper.^{[citation needed]} The seeds can also be used in most of the same capacities as soybeans, both for food and as a source of vegetable oil and fuel alcohol. Plant matter can be smoked or eaten for its mind-altering effects. Seeds are high in Omega 3 and 6; a great source of fiber, potassium & protein.^{[citation needed]}
• Dandelion -- Breaks up dense soil, helping vegetable roots go deeper. If picked while in season, leaves and flowers are edible as a salad component. Repels armyworms.
• Nightshade -- breaks up hardpan, allowing roots to grow deeper
• Wild Vetch -- the early cousin of the cover crop Hairy Vetch.

[edit] References

• Peterson, L.A. & Peterson, R.T. (1999). A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America. Houghton-Mifflin.
• Duke, J.A., Foster, S., & Peterson, R.T. (1999). A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton-Mifflin.

• Gibbon, E. (1988). Stalking the Wild Asparagus. Alan C. Hood & Company.
• Sharma, O.P., R.C. Lavekar, K.S. Murthy and S.N. Puri. (2000). Habitat diversity and predatory insects in cotton IPM : A case study of Maharashtra cotton eco-system. Radcliffe’s IPM world textbook. http:// www.ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/ sharma.htm. Minnesota University, USA

[edit] See also

• List of companion plants
• List of edible flowers
• List of repellent plants
• Beetle bank