A beneficial weed can be an invasive plant that has some companion plant effect, which is edible, contributes to soil health, adds ornamental value, or is beneficial in some way. These plants are normally not domesticated. However, some invasive plants, such as dandelions, are commercially cultivated in addition to growing in the wild. Beneficial weeds include many wildflowers, as well as other weeds that are commonly removed or poisoned. Certain weeds that have obnoxious and destructive qualities have been shown to fight illness and are thus used in medicine. Reductions in abundances of weeds which act as hosts may affect associated insects and other taxa which are beneficial. For example, Parthenium hysterophorus which is native to Northern Mexico and parts of the US, has been an issue for years due to its toxicity and ability to spread rapidly. In the past few decades though research has found that Parthenium hysterophorus has been used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation, pain, fever, neurological disorders and diseases like malaria and dysentery. It is also known to create Biogas and can be used as a bioremediation agent to break down heavy metals and other pollutants.
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Wildflower in the context of Woodlot
A woodlot is a parcel of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products (such as wood fuel, sap for maple syrup, sawlogs, and pulpwood) as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation. The term woodlot is chiefly North American; in Britain, a woodlot would be called a wood, woodland, or copse.
Many woodlots occur as part of a farm or as buffers and undevelopable land between these and other property types such as housing subdivisions, industrial forests, or public properties (highways, parks, watersheds, etc.). Very small woodlots can occur where a subdivision has not met its development potential, or where terrain does not easily permit other uses. Very large woodlots (hundreds of acres) might emerge where profitable wood species have been depleted by commercial logging practices or compromised by diseases, leaving little choice but to divide and liquidate the real estate for other purposes.
Wildflower in the context of Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and heads. Banksias range in size from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres (100Â ft) tall. They are found in a wide variety of landscapes: sclerophyll forest, (occasionally) rainforest, shrubland, and some more arid landscapes, though not in Australia's deserts.
Heavy producers of nectar, banksias are a vital part of the food chain in the Australian bush. They are an important food source for nectarivorous animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, stingless bees and a host of invertebrates. Further, they are of economic importance to Australia's nursery and cut flower industries. However, these plants are threatened by a number of processes including land clearing, frequent burning and disease, and a number of species are rare and endangered.