28 March: Weeds

Today is Weed Appreciation Day. A day to appreciate the plants people usually don't want.

1. A weed is defined as a plant which is unwanted or unappreciated where it grows.
2. About 3% of the world's plant species are classified as weeds – that's about 8,000 out of a total of around 250,000.
3. Despite the bad press they get, some weeds are useful. Some are edible, like Dandelions, can be used as herbal medicine, or attract desirable insects like Butterflies and Bees.
4. Weeds tend to be species which can adapt quickly to a changing environment and thrive in it. Hence they are often the first plants to grow in ground after a disturbance. In other words, they are pioneer plants. They can help prevent soil erosion in such areas.
5. A weed species need not be a plant. Biologists sometimes use the term “weed species” to refer to animals as well. A weed species is one that is adaptable, can live in a variety of environments, reproduce and disperse rapidly. Examples might include Pigeons, Rats, and even, according to paleontologist David Jablonsky, humans.
6. Weeds often produce huge numbers of seeds. A single horseweed plant (Conyza canadensis) can produce as many as 200,000 seeds. Seeds can remain dormant in the ground for up to 40 years.
7. During Word War II, milkweed fluff was used to stuff life jackets, as it is six times more buoyant than cork.
8. We have a weed to thank for Velcro. It was invented by a Swiss hiker after he came home with burrs stuck to himself and his Dog. He looked at them under a microscope and noticed they were covered in tiny hooks.
9. There's a type of weed, called hydrilla, which can grow about 100 inches a day.
10. Thistles are said to be weeds, but it’s said they once helped win a battle. Norsemen landed in Scotland at night, hoping to surprise the sleeping Scottish soldiers. In order to move silently they took their boots off – but a large thistle patch got in their way. The thistle is now Scotland’s national flower.

My Books 

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The Ultraheroes series

Several new groups of superheroes, mostly British, living and working (mostly) in British cities like London and Birmingham. People discovering they have, and learning to live with, superpowers. Each book is complete in itself although there is some overlap of characters.

The Raiders series

A tale of two dimensions, and worm hole travel between the two. People displaced in both time and space, learning to get along and work together to find a way home while getting used to the superpowers wormhole travel gave them. A trilogy.

Golden Thread

A superhero tale with a difference. Five heroes from another dimension keep returning - whenever they return, they have a job to do and are a well-meshed team in order to do it. Until one time, something goes wrong...

Tabitha Drake series

A different kind of power - the ability to talk to dead people. Tabitha has it, and murder victims seek her out to make sure justice is done. Tabitha has this and a disastrous love life to cope with.

Short story collections

Some feature characters from the above novels, others don't. They're not all about superheroes. Some are creepy, romantic, funny.