Weedkiller-Pestcontroller.
A self guided garden tour of some useful weeds in Australia.
The garden tour is available on the front lawn of Campbeltown Art Centre - from January 7 to March 14, 2021- and online here.
The original concept was first staged in Western Sydney University in 2002, as part of my undergraduate studies for a Bachelor Degree in Contemporary Art, in an abandoned Drive-In. See here for a video of the original artwork.
Weedkiller-Pestcontroller is now back as part of the exhibition Space YZ at Campbeltown Art Gallery.
The exhibition wants to celebrate the legacy of the now defunct University of Western Sydney Art Department with the artworks of over 80 alumni. Weedkiller-Pestcontroller has been commissioned by the Campbeltown Art Centre (CAC).
DISCLAIMER
The Weedkiller- Pestcontroller self guided tour at CAC and this website is intended to provide general information only. Always seek the advice of a health professional before touching or eating any plant matter. Information provided is not designed to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any illness, or injury. Always consult a health care professional or medical doctor when suffering from any health ailment, disease, illness, or injury, or before attempting any traditional or folk remedies. All information provided is correct and documented but neither I, the artist, nor CAC, the host, will be held accountable for any misidentification or misuses of the information provided.
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Dandelion occurs throughout temperate regions of Australian; more common in the cooler and higher-rainfall areas. It is a widespread weed of lawns, roadsides, wasteland and occasionally of cultivation and pastures.
Origins: Cosmopolitan, naturalised to Australia.
Uses: The whole plant is edible, leaves in salads, flowers in fritters and roots as a parsnip substitute. Two year old roots are also ground to make an excellent, caffeine-free coffee.
Medicinal: The dandelion is a commonly used herbal remedy. It is especially effective and valuable as a diuretic because it contains high levels of potassium salts. The plant is used internally in the treatment of gall bladder and urinary disorders, gallstones, jaundice, cirrhosis, dyspepsia with constipation, oedema associated with high blood pressure and heart weakness, chronic joint and skin complaints, gout, eczema and acne. A tea made from the leaves is a laxative.
Details, recipes and images here>
Flatweed
Hypochoeris radicata
It is a weed in agricultural areas, causing yield reductions due to competition. It invades pastures, bush, lawns, gardens and disturbed lands.
Origins: Native to Europe and North Africa.
Uses: All parts of the plant are edible; however, the leaves and roots are those most often harvested. The leaves can be bitter in taste and are eaten raw in salads, steamed, or used in stir-fries. Older leaves can become tough and fibrous. It can be confused with dandelion, however the leaves of flatweed are hairy and the flower stems are branching. The root can be roasted, ground and brewed as a coffee substitute.
Medicinal: This plant does not have much medicinal use.
Details, recipes and images here>
Fleabane
Conyza species
A very common weed of crops, fallows, pastures, roadsides, disturbed sites, waste areas, gardens, lawns, footpaths, parks, coastal environs, riparian vegetation, forest and wetland margins, and disturbed woodlands.
Origins: Cosmopolitan, naturalised to Australia.
Uses: Young leaves and seedlings are cooked in rice or dried for later use. The source of an essential oil that is used commercially for flavouring sweets, condiments and soft drinks.
Medicinal: In traditional North American herbal medicine, fleabane was boiled to make steam for sweat lodges, taken as a snuff to stimulate sneezing during the course of a cold and burned to create a smoke that warded off insects. Nowadays it is valued most for its astringency, being used in the treatment of gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhoea and dysentery. It can be harvested at any time it is in flower and is best used when fresh. The dried herb should not be stored for more than a year. An infusion of the plant has been used to treat internal haemorrhages or applied externally to treat gonorrhoea and bleeding piles. It is a uterine stimulant and is also said to be valuable in the treatment of inflamed tonsils along with ulceration and inflammation of the throat. A bath with the fresh plant pounded has been used as a remedy for dogs fleas and irritations.
Details, recipes and images here>
Prickly lettuce
Lactuca serriola
Prickly lettuce is commonly a weed of agricultural areas and human habitation, it is also regarded as an environmental weed in some states and territories (e.g. in Western Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory).
Origins: It is native to Europe, Asia and Africa, and naturalised elsewhere, including Australia.
Uses: Young leaves, raw or cooked. The young tender leaves are mild and make an excellent salad but as the plant gets older, especially when coming into flower, it becomes bitter. As a potherb it needs very little cooking. Large quantities can cause digestive upsets. Young shoots are used as an asparagus substitute.
Medicinal: The whole plant is rich in a milky sap that flows freely when the plant is cut or broken. This hardens and dries when in contact with the air. The sap contains ‘lactucarium’, which is used in medicine for its anodyne, antispasmodic, digestive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic and sedative properties.
Details, recipes and images here>
Ribwort plantain
Plantago lanceolata
Widely naturalised. Common weed of disturbed sites including roadsides. persistent taproot. Has longevity of 1-3 years.
Origins: Native to Europe and North Africa. Naturalised in Australia
Uses: Young leaves are eaten raw or cooked, they are rather bitter and very tedious to prepare. The seed can be ground into a powder and added to flours when making bread and cakes.
Medicinal: Plantain is an effective treatment for bleeding, it quickly staunches blood flow and encourages the repair of damaged tissue. The leaves are used in the treatment of diarrhoea, gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, haemorrhoids, cystitis, bronchitis, catarrh, sinusitis, asthma and hay fever. They are used externally in treating skin inflammations, malignant ulcers, cuts, stings etc. A distilled water made from the plant makes an excellent eye lotion
Details, recipes and images here>
Scotch thistle
Cirsium vulgare
Scotch thistle is mainly a weed of agricultural areas and wasteland. It competes with sown species, inhibits livestock movement and causes both fault in wool and physical injury to animals
Origins: Europe, North Africa, naturalised in Australia.
Uses: Young leaves can be cooked after soaking overnight in salt. The stems can be peeled and then steamed or boiled. The tap roots can be eaten raw or cooked, but only on young thistles that have not flowered yet. The dried flowers are a rennet substitute for curdling milk. The seeds are occasionally eaten roasted.
Medicinal: The roots have been used as a poultice and a decoction of the plant used to heal sore jaws. A hot infusion of the whole plant has been used as a herbal steam for treating rheumatic joints. A decoction of the whole plant has been used both internally and externally to treat bleeding piles.
Details, recipes and images here>
Sowthistle
Sonchus species
Weed of crops, fallows, gardens, horticulture and disturbed areas.
Origins: Its origins are cosmopolitan. It is naturalised to Australia and cross breeds with native species.
Uses: Young leaves, raw or cooked, they can be added to salads, cooked like spinach or used in soups etc. Young stems can be cooked like asparagus or rhubarb. In New Zealand the plant is known as puha and much loved in traditional dishes such as the ‘Boil Up’.
Medicinal: The plant is emmenagogue and hepatic. An infusion has been used to bring on menstruation and to treat diarrhoea. The latex in the sap is used in the treatment of warts. The gum has been used as a cure for opium habits. The leaves are applied as a poultice to inflammatory swellings. An infusion of the leaves and roots is febrifuge and tonic.
Details, recipes and images here>
White clover
Trifolium repens
A very common and widespread weed of lawns, parks, gardens, roadsides, waste areas, disturbed sites, riparian vegetation, grasslands, open woodlands and alpine vegetation.
Origins: Cosmopolitan, naturalised to Australia.
Uses: You can eat the leaves raw or cooked, harvested before the plant comes into flower. They are used in salads, soups etc. They can also be used as a vegetable, cooked like spinach. Flowers and seed pods are dried, ground into powder and used as a flour or sprinkled on cooked foods such as boiled rice. Very wholesome and nutritious. The young flowers can be used in salads. Dried flowering heads are a tea substitute.
Medicinal: The plant is antirheumatic, antiscrophulatic, depurative, detergent and tonic. An infusion has been used in the treatment of coughs, colds, fevers and leucorrhoea. A tincture of the leaves is applied as an ointment to gout. An infusion of the flowers has been used as an eyewash.
Details, recipes and images here>
THANKS: to Allegra, my daughter, for her help with the sound recordings; to Emma Jay for the help 20 years ago with staging and presenting the original artwork; to Daniel Muddie Cunningham for the inclusion and the help re-staging this seminal artwork of mine; Emily Rolfe, Geoff the gardener and the staff at CAC for making it happen; to all the people who shared stories about weeds with me in the past; to the plants themselves.