What does Weeds Stand for?

The Greek term zizánia passed into Latin as zizanĭa, which came to our language as weeds. This is the name of a plant that belongs to the family group of grasses, whose main peculiarity is that its seeds and the flour obtained from them are toxic.

With a scientific name Lolium temulentum, the weeds have canes or stems that can exceed one meter in height. Its leaves are about eight inches long and its flowers develop in spikes.

The tares usually grow spontaneously in fields where wheat grows. That is why it is considered a weed. It is common for weeds to harbor fungi that poison the plant, with toxins accumulating in its grains. The consumption of these grains and of flours that include tares is harmful.

In the same way, it should not be overlooked that in “The Bible”, specifically in the Gospel of St. Matthew, the parable of the wheat and the tares is included. In the New Testament this becomes the twelfth parable that addresses the issue of respect and tolerance for what people who have a different religion are.

It is also known by the names of the parable of the tares or the parable of the weeds.

Due to this characteristic of the plant, the notion of weeds is often used symbolically in different ways linked to harmful issues. The vice that breaks out between good customs and actions is called tares, just like that which spoils something.

There is also talk of “sowing weeds” or “putting weeds” when someone acts so that other people fight or have a conflict. Suppose a worker comments to a colleague: “I am angry with the boss because I feel that he does not value me. The interlocutor, instead of trying to reassure him, says: “Yes, yesterday I thought I heard that the owner of the company treated you as incapable. I think you should rebuke him so that he doesn’t continue to disrespect you ”. This answer serves to put weeds since it does not help to solve the problem, but quite the opposite: possibly the worker faces his boss with anger for a simple feeling or suspicion.

In addition to all the above, we cannot ignore that the term at hand has also been used within the literary field. A good example of this is the work “La cizaña”, which is the 15th album in the French comic series starring Asterix and Obélix, created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.

In the year 1970 was when the publication of this book was carried out, which tells that Julius Caesar, tired of the Gallic people always being able to resist the Roman stakes, decides to take action on the matter. Exactly he makes the decision to generate “weeds” within the residents of that town so that this makes them vulnerable and the Roman Empire can manage to subdue them.

What he will do is send Perfectus Detritus there, a man who has the “ability” to make problems arise that confront people.

Weeds