Bad weeds

"The Biology of Canadian Weeds" is a book edited and compiled by Gerald A. Mulligan. The articles featured are reprinted from the Canadian Journal of Plant Science. We also get a taste of that phoney Canadian bilingualism, since every article has a very short abstract...in French.

The papers on the various weed species look similar, and include information on ecomomic importance, habitat, history, growth and development, reproduction, hybrids, responses to herbicides and parasites, etc. etc. Range maps are included. There is also a list of references appended to each article.

The definition of "weed" is, of course, somewhat subjective. The Eurasian Watermilfoil destroys beeches, clogs water supply systems and provide habitats for blood-sucking insects. Attempts to use it as fertilizer, animal feed or soil conditioner have met with only limited success. Sounds like a truly bad weed. Meanwhile, the Great Burdock is just "unsightly" at those wonders of Candian aesthetics known as roadsides. In Japan, it's used as a vegetable!

I'm not sure how to rate this book, mostly intended for students of botany. In the end, it gets three stars.

Huston?