Weeds—A Pictorial of Some
Common Landscape Problems

The word weed in the basic sense is one with virtually no class value, because a weed is a weed only if it's growing where it's not wanted or needed. In some cases, plants that we call weeds are used as food or as integral parts of the garden.

Weeds might be undesired for several reasons. Some are unattractive.

Others force out more desirable plants, or limit the amount of light that desirable plants need to thrive.

If you have poor soil, having weeds use nutrients earmarked for other plants can put them on the gardening hit list.

Some others may pass on a disease.

A few weeds are annoyances simply because they possess thorns or prickles, while others possess compounds that irritate the skin or are dangerous when consumed.

Still others have seed systems that come off and affix to hair or clothing, or pets.

Below is some information, pictures and remedies for some popular weeds widely claimed to be nuisances. Some of them look almost too pretty to be weeds, but the general consensus is that they're weeds.

Broadleaf Weeds

field bindweed
Photo courtesy of
Phil Westra, Colorado State University 		black medic
Photo courtesy of
Forest & Kim Starr,
U.S. Geological Survey 		broadleaf plantain
Photo courtesy of
James H. Miller,
USDA Forest Service
Field Bindweed aka: creeping jenny, European bindweed, morning glory, perennial morning glory, small-flowered morning glory
 Black Medic aka: black medick, black medic clover, black medick, hop clover, hop medic, nonesuch, yellow trefoil
 Broadleaf Plantain aka: common plantain, broadleaf plantain, buckhorn plantain, great plantain, rippleseed plantain
buckhorn plantain
Photo courtesy of
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University 		bur clover
Photo courtesy of
Forest & Kim Starr,
U.S. Geological Survey 		Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.
Photo courtesy of
L.L. Berry
Buckhorn Plantain aka: narrowleaf plantain, buckhorn plantain, English plantain, lanceleaf Indianwheat, lanceleaf plantain, ribgrass, ribwort
 Bur Clover aka: burclover, bur clover, California burclover, toothed medick
 Canada Thistle aka: Californian thistle, creeping thistle, field thistle
carpetweed, Mollugo verticillata L.
Photo courtesy of
Rebekah D. Wallace 		common burdock, Arctium minus Bernh.
Photo courtesy of
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University 		common chickweed Stellaria pallida (Dumort.) Crépin
Photo courtesy of
Rebekah D. Wallace
Carpetweed aka: green carpetweed
 Common Burdock aka: lesser burrdock, bardane, beggar's button, burdock, small burdock, smaller burdock, wild burdock, wild rhubarb
 Common Chickweed aka: chickweed, nodding chickweed, stitchwort, starwort
creeping beggarweed Desmodium incanum DC.
Photo courtesy of
Forest & Kim Starr,
U.S. Geological Survey 		curly dock, Rumex crispus L.
Photo courtesy of
Steve Dewey, Utah State University 		slender cudweed, Gnaphalium exilifolium A. Nels.
Photo courtesy of
Dave Powell,
USDA Forest Service
Creeping Beggarweed aka: zarzabacoa comun
 Curly Dock aka: Curley dock, narrowleaf dock, sour dock, yellow dock
 Slender Cudweed
dandelion, Taraxacum officinale
Photo courtesy of
Dave Powell,
USDA Forest Service 		dichondra, Dichondra carolinensis Michx.
Photo courtesy of
Rebekah D. Wallace 		English daisy, Bellis perennis L.
Photo courtesy of
UAF Cooperative Extension Archive, University of Alaska - Fairbanks
Dandelion aka: common dandelion, blowball, dandelion, faceclock
 Dichondra aka: Carolina ponysfoot
 English daisy aka: lawndaisy, European daisy
evening primrose, Oenothera biennis L.
Photo courtesy of
Forest & Kim Starr,
U.S. Geological Survey 		false dandelion
Photo courtesy of
James H. Miller,
USDA Forest Service 		redstem filaree
Photo courtesy of
Forest & Kim Starr,
U.S. Geological Survey
Evening Primrose aka: common eveningprimrose, evening primrose (common), hoary eveningprimrose, king's-cureall
 False Dandelion aka: Carolina desert-chicory, Carolina desert chicory, Carolina false dandelion, Carolina false-dandelion
 Redstem Filaree aka: redstem stork's bill, alfilaree, alfilaria, California filaree, cutleaf filaree, filaree, red-stem stork's-bill, redstem, redstem filaree, stork's bill, storksbill
Florida pusley, Richardia scabra L.
Photo courtesy of
Rebekah D. Wallace 		ground ivy, Glechoma hederacea L.
Photo courtesy of
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University 		henbit, Lamium amplexicaule L.
Photo courtesy of
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University
Florida Pusley aka: rough Mexican clover
 Ground Ivy aka: creeping charlie, gill-over-the-ground, groundivy, haymaids
 Henbit aka: henbit deadnettle, common henbit, giraffehead

Grassy Weeds

annual bluegrass, Poa annua L.
Photo courtesy of
Steve Dewey, Utah State University 		barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli
Photo courtesy of
Charles T. Bryson, USDA Agricultural Research Service 		bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon
Photo courtesy of
Steve Dewey, Utah State University
Annual Bluegrass aka: walkgrass
 Barnyardgrass aka: cockspur, Japanese millet, large barnyard grass, watergrass
 Bermudagrass aka: common bermudagrass, devilgrass
crabgrasssouthern, Digitaria ciliaris
Photo courtesy of
Ted Bodner, Southern Weed Science Society 		dallisgrass, Paspalum dilatatum Poir.
Photo courtesy of
Rebekah D. Wallace 		foxtail giant Setaria faberi Herrm.
Photo courtesy of
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University
Southern Crabgrass aka: fingergrass, Henry's crabgrass, kukaepua'a, saulangi, smooth crabgrass, Southern crab grass, tropical crabgrass
 Dallisgrass aka: dallas grass, dallis grass, herbe de miel, herbe sirop, hiku nua, palpalum dilate, water grass
 Giant Foxtail aka: Japanese bristlegrass, Chinese foxtail, Chinese millet, giant bristlegrass, nodding foxtail

Woody Plants

giant ragweed, Ambrosia trifida
Photo courtesy of
Theodore Webster, USDA Agricultural Research Service 		atlantic poison oak, Toxicodendron pubescens P. Mill.
Photo courtesy of
Ted Bodner, Southern Weed Science Society 		eastern poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans
Photo courtesy of
Mark Czarnota, University of Georgia
Giant Ragweed aka: blood ragweed, horseweed, perennial ragweed, tall ragweed
 Atlantic Poison Oak
 Eastern Poison Ivy aka: poison ivy, poisonivy
kudzu, Pueraria montana var. lobata
Photo courtesy of
Rebekah D. Wallace
 
 
Kudzu    

All of the photos on this page are from Bugwood.org.

Some of the information above was provided by The University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.

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