Dude, I just had this realization on my own a few months ago. I grew up thinking weeds literally choked the life out of grass and other plants by definition. So after some thought I started saying to myself and others “weeds are just any plant you don’t desire in your yard, they aren’t a species or group, the word means nothing”
My mum refers to dandelions as weeds and they’re native here in Europe. They are still rather invasive, as in if you’re trying to grow a vegetable garden or something, they’ll be all over that in no time, thanks to their floating seeds and hardiness.
But yeah, personally, I don’t really get why our vegetable garden needs to be a 100% dandelion-free zone. Heck, you can even use them in salads and whatnot.
The basic definition of a weed is merely any plant growing where you don’t want it to. Technically, an apple tree can be a weed if it’s somewhere you don’t want it to be.
I think the usual definition is closer to “a plant that REALLY wants to be in a space you don’t want it to be, and refuses to leave once it’s in”.
For example, I think it’s fairly uncontroversial to call grass a weed. Sure, we like our lawns, but they really want to spread anywhere they can. They are more aggressive than dandelions, and the only reason we hate dandelions more is their taproot.
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