A special plant has been discovered in a park in Alkmaar: it is a field thistle that comes from China. The Weverstraat in the Alkmaar district of Het Rak is the only place in the Netherlands where the plant grows, as far as is known. Plant expert Theo Baas is this week’s guide to Natural North Holland and he is the discoverer of the Chinese field thistle. But he sees many more special plants in his own neighborhood.
At first glance, the thistles look like all thistles: long stems, leaves with spines and purple flowers. Only a real herbalist will see that it is just a little bit different from the other thistles. The space between the leaves is slightly larger, the leaf slightly more serrated, details. You must have very good plant eyes to notice that.
Fortunately, Theo Baas lives in this street and Theo is constantly looking for plants. Garden plants, but especially for ‘weeds’. “These wild plants are gaining ground on the street because there is less and less hoeing. Fortunately, because there are great plants among them that are very important for our insects.”
We pause for a moment at an evening primrose that stands out with its yellow flowers. “The flowers of the evening primrose open when it is dark. As a result, moths in particular benefit from its pollen and nectar. In the past, when all the weeds in the street were controlled, you could only find them in the dunes. But now also here!”
Natural NH – NH News
But how did that Chinese thistle end up in the Alkmaar park? Theo: “One of the tiny seeds must have come along with someone who visited China. You put your bag on the side of the road in China, or you walk through the grass and go: there’s a piece of fluff on it. your shoelace or backpack and a week later it comes loose again when you are almost home from the trip and it blows into the park. That’s how things go.”