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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.645248, -74.02302 Apr 30, 2016 - 4 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.676098, -74.012275 Jul 31, 2012 - 2:20 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.81752, -73.883196 Jul 03, 2013 - 12:46 PM
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At the shore #lbi #spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 39.603882, -74.210136 Sep 19, 2015 - 4:41 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.732995, -73.938112 Aug 07, 2014 - 10:28 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.89725, -73.974663 Jul 28, 2014 - 2:41 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.713975, -73.9329 Jul 14, 2014 - 6:09 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.67982, -74.008032 Jul 07, 2014 - 3:58 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.69558, -73.935433 Jul 03, 2014 - 2:28 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.748836, -74.007594 Jun 17, 2014 - 4:32 PM
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#spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.737182, -74.009922 Jun 17, 2014 - 1:21 PM
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#statenislandsup #spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.564377, -74.126835229 Jul 09, 2013 - 1:22 PM
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#brooklynsup #spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.67322745, -74.008895995 Jul 08, 2013 - 7:25 PM
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#brooklynsup #spontaneousurbanplants Go to MAP 40.67322745, -74.008895995 Jul 08, 2013 - 7:27 PM
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Artemesia and small twining vine with pink flowers Go to MAP 40.672825, -74.008095 Jun 19, 2013 - 5:08 PM
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Artemesia vulgaris - Mugwort #spontaneousurbanp... Go to MAP 40.673815, -74.010055 Jun 24, 2013 - 10:11 PM
Artemisia vulgaris
Mugwort

Botanical description: In vacant lots, gardens, sidewalk cracks, and along the base of buildings, Mugwort can be found nearly everywhere in the city. If left unchecked, Artemisia vulgaris can form large monocultures, with a dense system of rhizomatous roots. It can populate new locations through its wind-dispersed seed, which it produces in great quantity, preferring alkaline soils, rich with nitrogen. Mugwort grows to four feet and due to the white, woolly undersides of leaves, looks silvery when the wind blows through a colony. The density of flower spikes produced in autumn can cause the entire plant to bend under the weight. The deeply lobed leaves of Artemisia vulgaris resemble the leaves of chrysanthemum with a similar strong, pungent fragrance. Mugwort has a long history of use in herbal medicine and Chinese acupuncture for a litany of ailments - from intestinal disorders to depression. In Europe, plants were thought to ward away evil spirits and protect people from fatigue, wild beasts, and sunstroke. Artemisia was used to season meat and to impart a bitter flavor to beer - resulting in its common name, mugwort. Leaves were dried and made into tea or smoked by sailors, as an inexpensive alternative to tobacco.