Non-Native Invasive Plant Discovered In Minnesota

WHAT IS THIS PLANT?

I was watering my pepper plants the other day and noticed that the plant featured here was growing in the center of my planter. It has grown to be quite large, and at first, I wasn't sure if it was one of my pepper plants; so I let it grow. Now I can see that it is NOT a pepper, and it's getting to be quite massive.

I reached out to Master Gardener Bill Cook regarding this beautiful plant and asked him if he knew what it was.

Bill said this is called Lady's Thumb, or Polygonum Persecaria. It is a common summer weed that is edible! You can use the non-peppery young leaves in salads, or cooked as a pot herb. The peppery, more mature leaves can be used as a spice.

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However, if I'm not planning on eating it, and if I don't want more of it, Bill suggested that I pull it now and get rid of it.

 The Lady's Thumb is not native to Minnesota. I've never seen this plant before, and I am wondering if it was somehow in the soil that I purchased and put in my planters.

WHERE DOES 'LADY'S THUMB' COME FROM?

The Lady's Thumb is an annual weed from the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It usually grows in man-made or disturbed habitats, meadows and fields, and on the shores of rivers or lakes.

Lady's Thumb flowers can be green to brown, pink to red, or white. The leaves are what caught my eye. They are green on the outside but have a deep maroon center, which is quite lovely.

PURPOSES

I read that the Cherokee used the crushed leaves to treat rashes caused by Poison Ivy.

Ironically, the plant is peppery, so it's funny to me that it's growing with my peppers. If you handle this plant, you want to make sure to keep your fingers away from your eyes, or it can sting.

IS 'LADY'S THUMB' NUTRITIOUS?

Lady's Thumb can be eaten. A 100-gram serving of fresh greens has Riboflavin, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A. Lady's Thumb might also make a yellow dye, so the article suggests that the plant might have some beta carotene in it.

Although the plant does invade crops in some 50 countries, it has other good qualities. Its flowers attract bees, wasps, and syrphid flies. Lots of other bugs feed on it, but most mammals avoid it when it's at its 'peppery stage.' Mice, Squirrels, and chipmunks also will eat its seeds—turtles like snappers, Painted, and Slider turtles also like eating Lady's Thumb.

If you don't want to eat Lady's Thumb or use it for medicinal purposes, then as our Master Gardener said earlier, better pull it and get rid of it.