WEED FAMILIES

I. Common Arable Weeds in Zambia

A. Weedy Monocotyledonous Families

i. Poaceae [formerly called gramineae] (the grasses).

Grass weeds constitute the largest, most important and most common family. They
are herbs with usually cylindrical stems which may be hollow. Leaves are mostly
basal and on flowering and non-flowering stems. Leaves alternate with a
pronounced sheath around the stem and with ligules in many species. Flowers in
spikelets with two sterile bracts (glumes) at the base, plus abaxial and adaxial bracts
(lemmas and paleas) on each fertile floret. There are no petals and pollination is
mainly by wind. The seed is a caryopsis enclosed in a series of bracts.

 Eleusine indica (wild finger millet, goose grass).

 Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass, star grass)
 Rottboellia cochinchinensis (guinea-fowl grass, itch grass, corn grass)
 Digitaria milanjiana (finger grass, crab grass, crab finger grass)
 Digitaria ternata (black seed finger-grass)
 Setaria pumila (yellow foxtail, pigeon grass)
 Setaria verticillata (Sticky bristle grass)
 Melinis repens (blanket grass, red Natal grass, Natal redtop)
 Panicum maximum (buffalo grass, guinea grass)
 Eragrostis aspera (rough lovegrass)
 Eragrostis viscosa (viscid lovegrass, sticky lovegrass)
 Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crow foot grass)

ii. Cyperaceae (sedges).

These look like grass species. Cyperus rotundus and C. esculentus (slightly larger of
the two species), among the ‘world’s worst weeds’ are some of the members of this
very diverse group. Other species of Cyperus are important particularly in rice.
Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) was used as writing paper in the past. Members of this
family are often perennial herbs. Stems are usually three-angled (triangular in cross
section), jointless and solid. Leaves all basal, arranged in threes (extend in three
directions), linear with sheaths, flat near tips but v-shaped near the base. Flowers
in spikelets with glumes not petals, wind pollinated, fruit a nut, which is often
triangular.

 Cyperus esculentus (yellow nutsedge)

 Cyperus rotundus (purple nutsedge)
 Cyperus eragrostis (tall flatsedge)

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 * Please, note that Cyperus spp are not grasses!

iii. Commelinaceae (The dayflower family).

Commelina benghalensis (Blue Wandering Jew, Benghal dayflower) is a sub-tropical

arable weed. The leaves are alternate, relatively broad, often at least ¼ as wide as
long [therefore the distinction between weeds as broadleaf and narrow leaf to mean
dicotyledons and monocotyledons/grasses respectively is misleading; but using
dicotyledons and monocotyledons is appropriate]. Leaf sheaths clasp the succulent
stem. Flowers are few, they have three sepals, three white or blue petals, six
stamens and a single style. C. benghalensis is green and without reddish patches
unlike its close relative Commelina diffusa.

Commelina diffusa (Spreading dayflower) has leaves with an obvious leaf sheath
which can sometimes be hairy (pubescent) But never with brown hairs (a
characteristic of C. benghalensis). It also has blue flowers. It is always an annual
weed in temperate countries but just like C. benghalensis, it may be annual or
perennial in the tropics and subtropics, depending on moisture availability.

B. Weedy Dicotyledonous Families

Dicots are a highly variable group of plants but most have showy flowers and net-
like veins in their leaves. Below are selected common weeds from respective
families.

iv. Asteraceae [formerly compositae]. This is the same family to which sunflower
belongs.
 Acanthospermum hispidum (goat’s head, starbur)
 Ageratum conyzoides (billy goat weed)
 Galinsoga parviflora (gallant soldier)
 Nidorella resedifolia (nidorella)
 Sonchus oleraceus (common sow thistle)
 Tagetes minuta (Mexican marigold, stinking roger)
 Tridax procumbens (tridax daisy, coat buttons)
 Vernonia petersii (bitterleaf)

v. Boraginaceae

 Trichodesma zeylanicum (late weed)

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 vi. Convolvulaceae
 Convolvulus sagittatus (binding weed, silverbush)

vii. Solanaceae

 Solanum nigrum (Black nightshade, deadly nightshade)

 Nicandra physalodes (wild gooseberry, apple of Peru, Chinese lantern)

viii. Euphorbiaceae

 Euphorbia hirta (red milkweed, asthma weed)

 Euphorbia heterophylla (wild poinsettia, fire plant, yellow spurge)
ix. Lamiaceae
 Leucas martinicensis (whitewort, bobbin weed)
x. Malvaceae
 Sida alba (spiny sida)
 Hibiscus meeusei (hibiscus, rose mallow)
 Conchorus oritorius (Jew's mallow, wild jute)
xi. Portulacaceae

 Portulaca oleracea (purslane)

xii. Capparaceae
 Cleome gynandra (African cabbage, spider flower, spider plant, cat’s whiskers)
 Cleome monophylla (Spindle pod)
 Cleome hirta (Sticky purple cleome )
xiii. Polygonaceae

 Oxygonum sinuatum (double thorn)

xiv. Scrophulariaceae (Orobanchaceae)

 Striga asiatica (red witchweed)

xv. Oxalidaceae

 Oxalis stricta (sorrel, yellow sorrel)

xvi. Amaranthaceae

 Amaranthus hybridus (common pigweed)

 Amaranthus spinosus (thorny pigweed)
 Amaranthus thunbergii (poor man’s spinach, small pigweed)

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 II. Other Weeds

Aquatic weeds

xvii. Ponterderiaceae
Eichhornia crassipes (Kafue weed, water hyacinth) – Originally a South America
‘citizen’, this is a weed of national significance in Zambia. It has social, economic and
environmental/ecological importance.

xviii. Salviniaceae
Salvinia molesta (Kariba weed, giant salvinia) – originated from south
eastern Brazil.

xix. Araceae
Pistia stratiotes (water lettuce, water cabbage) – also from South America. Like
other aquatic weeds it clogs waterways hampering navigation, clogging irrigation
canals, destroys rice paddies and ruins fishing grounds and affects hydro-electricity
production as its vast mats clog the turbines.

Environmental weeds

xx. Verbenaceae
Lantana camara (lantana, tickberry). Very invasive weed that has colonised many
areas, especially where it’s not disturbed, including National Parks (e.g. Mosi-o-tunya
National Park area around the Victoria Falls and Kafue National Park) and in many
open areas. It is used as a hedge planted around houses. However, this should now
be declared illegal because it is clear that the weed is now difficult to contain .

xxi. Agavaceae
Agave americana (century plant, American aloe). Usually planted as an ornamental
plant, it colonises roadsides, railways, disturbed areas, abandoned
homesteads/waste areas. Very persistent due to ability to tolerate severe droughts,
fires, poor soils and that it little or no known natural enemies. It is dispersed by
deliberate plantings, movement of soil and dumped vegetation, and naturally as a
garden escape.