So the wife & I were talking about the yard. Wondering about why she could be suffering so badly from allergies this time of year. The usual suspects had been eradicated from anywhere near the house, so there was call for further investigation. I had noticed that the weeds out back bordering the woods (more like small trees!) had blossomed small white flowers. This must be the suspect!

Now me & these bamboo like weeds have been at war now for years, ever since we moved in. They are all consuming, & they shoot up from the ground faster than playdough can be pushed through a playdough factory! I've pulled them up when they are small, I've pulled them up after they've grown... I can't bring myself to using total vegetation killer... Too many keepables mixed in there. There's always fire! As much fun as it would be, I'm brought back to not wanting to kill everything. Especially the house! Anyways, it's been a battle, & until I had moved here, I'd never seen them before, & had no idea what they were.

So as I was saying, the thought of these pesky things being the cause of my wife's allergy problems struck me. First thought was to find out what these things are. So I went out, took a good look(not hard to do,they've consumed about 3/4's of an acre), went back inside to my trusty Google. After going through a few pages of search, some different keywords, & about 2 cups of coffee, I found a match!

The Japanese Knotweed! Once I identified it, I did a search on that particular term & was shocked! There have been entire states, entire countries, that have declared war on this evil plant! They suck the land dry of indigenous plant life, throwing the effected area way out of whack. Barely removable. You need to just about dig up the entire area to get to the root of the thing.

While reading up on the history of how the plant crossed the sea as a decorative lawn ornament somewhere in the 1800's, & has been treated like the plague ever since, I found out many interesting facts about this pesky weed. In fact, I learned a few things that gave me cause to want to keep them! Here is what I found...

1. They are edible! I guess they taste like rhubarb, but better. Havent tried one yet, gotta wait till next spring. They say it's best when they're about 1 foot tall Late April -early May. At this stage it isn't all bamboo like & can be peeled for the good stuff in the middle.
2. They contain a huge amount of Resveratrol. At first I had no idea about what this is. Did some digging & found that there are tons of supplements out there made from these things. Extending lifespan is one of the benefits, getting rid of heart disease is another. Forget it! There are entire blogs, sites & e-books that I found out there that lay out the benefits of Resveratrol. You'd be surprised. I'm not so sure on whether the claims being made have been tested well, but there sure are claims.
   

So I've been thinking, usually a dangerous venture, but thinking none the less. Maybe there's some benefit to be made from my enemy out back! I could eat some, sell some to local grocers, supplement manufactures, & take up stock in Benedryl, considering the allergy problem won't get better. Think of it as boosting the economy via allergy.

Burden or Blessing? You be the judge!