Plant and Management Information by Latin Name

Common Names (English/Japanese)

Notes

Control

Velvet leaf

Native herb to India. Seeds are very durable. Best destroyed in hot compost. Avoid plowing under in fields.

Flowers in the fall.

Adonis

Indian Joint Vetch

Legume that grows along paddy fields. Flowers late summer-Oct.Long pods; used as nitrogen fixing rotation crop; has some medicinal uses.

Plow under before it seeds as green manure; pull by hand.

Redtop

Suzumenoteppou

Flowers March-May.

Pigweed

Common in fields; different varieties have edible properties; this is a nuisance in fieldcrops;

Aobiyu

Flowers Aug-Oct. Native to tropical Americas.

Ammania

Grows in wet areas; flowers in fall; little buds tight on stem;

Hog peanut

Japanese aralia Golden Umbrella Tree

Small white flowers and purple fruits;

Mugwort

Flowers late summer. Thrives in sunny locations. Used in herbal medicine- crushed leaves are fragrant.Spreads by rhizomes- underground root network.

Wild Asparagus

Repels nemotodes near tomatoes - good companion plant. Edible.

"Wild Chrysanthemum Nokongiku

Flowers late summer. Rose, pink, purple blooms.

Aster "Houkigiku

Okera

Amerikasen dangusa

Flowers in fall. Native to N America.

Rescue grass

Native to S America.

Morning Glory "Field bindweed

Flowers June-August. Spreads by rhizomes. Can be a nuisance if it is not kept under control. Left wild, it can take over other plants and wind around field crops.

Shepard's Purse

Hackberry?

Celtishas pointed tips?

Job's-tears

Dayflower "Tsuyukusa

Flowers June-Sept. Seeds can lay dormant for 5 years. Stops growing in winter. Blue flower sap used as a dye.

Tamagayatsuri?

Second picture - flowers late summer.

Nutsedge

Reproduces by seed and tubers (nutlets) that form at ends of rhizomes. Grasslike, light yellow green, shiny. Tubers grow after rains in summer. Very invasive, spreads quickly and difficult to pull by hand.

Dislikes shade. Keep grass turf dense. Mow lawn high.

Cyperales

Wild Strawberry "Hebi ichigo

Grows April-June. Round fruits have little balls rather than seedlike bumps - if the fruit resembles a real strawberry it is probably frageria

Fleabane

Flowers June-Sept. Native to N America.

Spotted Spurge

Milky sticky sap, tap root.

Remove by hand.

Horsetail

Prefers acidic soil. Rhizomes (spreading roots) go deep. Difficult to pull by hand, spreads quickly, very invasive, can overtake lawns, flowerbeds and fields.

Native to N America.

Lizard tail, chameleon plant

Prefers moist shady areas. Roots form on stems and laterally. Easily spread after cutting or pulling. Can become a nuisance. Very invasive and difficult to eradicate from garden. Used in herbal tea

Hops "Kanamugura

Female plant forms cones. Used in beer and herbal medicine. Can be grown commercially; wild, it is a rampant vine,has spines that help it hook around objects; invasive if not kept under control.

Nochidome

Flowers June-Aug. Grows in moist areas.

Henbit

Flower in spring. Seedlings in fall.

Honeysuckle "Suikazura

Used as ground cover but very invasive; used in Chinese herbal med; love it or hate it; very invasive if not kept contained; will weaken trees and take over everything;

Cut to 5-10 cm of ground, apply glyphosate concentrated (20-25%) immediately after making the cut.

Spider flower Higanbana

Produces a flower shoot mid September, after flowering, shiny dark leaves grow.

Four O'Clock

Native of Peru. Medicinal uses;flowers used in edible dyes.

Remove if unwanted by handpulling.

Japanese pampas grass "Susuki

One of the seven flowers of autumn; dried stems used in woven goods; tough stems make it a nuisance if it is in the crops field or lawn;

Japanese mulberry

Mulberry has various nutritional and medicinal uses.

Wood Sorrel

Stems and leaves contain oxalic acid. Seeds burst out when touched. Flowers in May-June.

Pull before seed heads form in fall.

Rubiaceae ????

Little tubelike flowers and chain of berries

Crabgrass

 Ookusakibi

"Native to N America.Flowers Aug-Sept. Dies off in November."Likes dry barren areas.

Kill seeds in hot compost (55' C)

Water grass shima suzume no hie

Ominaeshi

Yellow flowers on branching stems in autumn;

Chikarashiba

Flowers in fall.

Butterbur Fuki

Cultivated as a vegetable but also grows wild. Shoots are harvested early spring; leaf stems are boiled, peeled and eaten.

Reed

Flowers late summer. Dies in winter. Grows 2-3 meters in wet places. 9 Difficult to get rid of once it invades lawn or crops.

(Mowing stimulates growth, so apply pesticides after cutting)

Gripeweed

Spreads by seeds.

Ishimikawa

Flowers late summer, grows through Nov. Barbs cause this to stick on clothes/fur.

Wear gloves and pull it out as soon as possible.

Ladysthumb

Purslane

Used in herbal medicine. Pretty yellow flowers late summer.

Some people like it as a wildflower ornamental; pull by hand; stems will root easily so don't plow or break up the plant, remove it in one piece;

Kingcup

Flowers May-June. Toxic to animals.

Knotweed Itadori

Small white clustered flowers

Destroy it before cultivating or clearing; easily spread and highly invasive; sticky stems; "Smother area with heavy tarp or carpet."Glyphosate (in Roundup) Spray in early fall when rhizomes are storing food.

Foxtail

Grows May-Oct. Flowers July-Sept. Seeds germinate in hot weather.

St Paul's Wort

Flowers in Sept-Oct. Grows along fields. Used medicinally.

Goldenrod

Flowers Oct-Nov. Native to N America. Nice wildflower but highly allergenic.

Sowthistle

Native to Europe. Serrated leaf edge is pinchy. Similar varieties -yellow flower, milky sap.

Johnson grass

Coarse, tall & vigorous.

Kohakobe

Grows year round.