=Rib-Grass. Narrow-leaved Plantain.= _Plantago lanceolata_ L. Seeds
shining, amber-colored to brown, oval, 2-2.5 mm. long, shaped like a
shallow, thick-walled canoe with ends rounded alike, a dark scar
occupying the middle of the narrow concave side, a faint, transverse
groove across the convex side near the middle sometimes apparent. Often
found mixed with clover seeds from which it is very difficult to
separate. Introduced from Europe.
[Illustration: Fig. 174.]
=Broad-leaved Plantain.= _Plantago major_ L. Seeds, light to dark brown
or very nearly black, 1-1.5 mm. long, slightly flattened, with acute
edges very variable in shape, oval, oblong, rhomboidal and trapezoid,
the surface roughened by slender, colored ridges, appearing under the
lens as slightly wavy lines, radiating from the scar. The clear light
green color of the lower end of the leaf-stem is an easy mark to
distinguish this plant from another broad-leaved plantain, _P. Rugelii_
in which the base of leaf is red. Introduced from Europe. About door
yards.
[Illustration: Fig. 175.]
=Rugel's Broad-leaved Plantain.= _Plantago Rugelii Decne._ Seeds dark
brown to black, much like those of P. major, but larger, 1.5-2.5 mm.
long slightly flattened, with edges acute, very variable in shape, oval
oblong, rhomboidal, surface minutely roughened and dull, but wholly
without ridge or lines as in P. major. Native of this country. Lower end
of leaf-stalk red, and not clear green as in P. major. A vile pest in
clover fields.
MADDER FAMILY.
[Illustration: Fig. 176.]
=Blue Field Madder.= _Sherardia arvensis_ L. The parts often called
seeds are in reality the half-fruits ripened, each one bearing at the
apex three, white, pointed, persistent calyx lobes, the inner face
showing a vertical groove, and in some of the fruits the calyx is broken
off. Surface dull brown, clothed with small white hairs, obovoid, 2-2.5
mm. long. Introduced from Europe, not often found in the northern
states.
TEASEL FAMILY. DIPSACACEAE.
[Illustration: Fig. 177.]
=Wild Teasel.= _Dipsacus sylvestris_ Huds. Achene brown, minutely hairy,
4 mm. long, oblong, square in cross-section, with four vertical ribs on
the angles and four on the sides. Seed suspended, anatropous, supplied
with endosperm. Introduced from Europe. A weed requiring two years from
seed to seeding.
COMPOSITE FAMILY. COMPOSITAE.
[Illustration: Fig. 178.]
=Yarrow. Milfoil.= _Achillea Millefolium_ L. Flowers white; achenes
white to gray, finely striate lengthwise, flattened, oblong, tapering at
the lower end, straight or curved. 2-2.3 long. Most likely introduced
from Europe.
[Illustration: Fig. 179.]
=Ragweed.= _Ambrosia artemisiifolia_ L. Achenes hard, straw-colored to
light brown or black, top-shaped, broadly oval, 2.5-3 mm. long, besides
the beak 1.5 mm. long, the sides irregularly ridged vertically, with
5-10 short teeth at the apex. Sometimes the hard covering is removed by
a clover huller, exposing the naked seed. Native of the U. S.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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