Today it's a plant of the day. And it's: ........ Cobbler's Pegs. Known within my local Bushcare group by its scientific name of Bidens pilosa.
And what a horrible weed it is! Not the slightest bit attractive, incredibly invasive of our bushland areas, and its little black needle-like seeds get all over you and your clothes.
It's a native of the Americas, and it shouldn't be here. But it turns out there is a good side to Bidens. It's used in many parts of the world for its herbal medicinal properties, and it's said to be a natural antibiotic, effective on MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It's also edible, with the Vietnamese military in particular having consumed it when all else was unavailable during the Vietnam War. They called it the 'soldier vegetable'.
Why am I so energised by this ugly weed? It's because I spent all morning wrestling with it. It was my first session with my local Bushcare group, and Bidens was mostly what we were pulling out. We spent three hours on it, and dealt with only a couple of hundred square metres maybe. I felt good afterwards. Not sure if it was the exercise or the medicinal effect.
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