40 
stem is grooved, usually much branched and leafy, the leaves oblong 
or oblong Jance-shaped, somewhat acute at the apex, the lower ones 
1 to 3 inches long and wavy-toothed, the numerous upper leaves much 
smaller and usually entire. From July to September the flowers are 
produced, followed throughout the autumn by the fruits, both of 
which are green and borne in crowded leafy spikes. The whole plant 
has a powerful, disagreeable odor, due to the essential oil which it 
contains. 
Part used.—The entire leafy part of the plant is sometimes employed 
for the distillation of the oil, although the fruit alone is listed in the 
Pharmacopeia of the United States. The fruit is distilled for the oil, 
which it contains in large quantities. 
The fruits are in the form of small grains, about the size of a pin 
head, globular but slightly flattened, greenish, and inclosing the small 
shining black seeds. They have the same powerful odor as the plant, 
which does not diminish when the fruit is dried, and the taste is bitter 
and pungent. American wormseed is an anthelmintic. that is, it has 
the property of expelling worms. 
The fruits of Chenopodium anthelminticum, another species of worm- 
seed, are collected with those of the species just described. This plant 
is very similar to the American wormseed, the fruits being alike, and 
the only differences being thatin Chenopodium anthelminticum the stem 
is slightly taller, from 2} to 34 feet high, the leaves are more coarsely 
toothed, the flowers are borne in more elongated, usually leafless 
spikes, the odor is more pronounced and disngrecable, and the range 
and distribution of the plant are more limited. 
Wormseed is cultivated to a considerable extent in parts of Mary- 
land, where the distillation of the plant for the oil is carried on. 
Price.—In ordinary seasons the price paid for chenopodium or worm- 
seed ranges from 6 to 8 cents per pound. The oil distilled from 
wormseed is at present selling at $1.50 per pound. 
BLACK MUSTARD. 
Brassica nigra (L.) Koch. (Sinapis nigra L.) 
Other common names.—Brown mustard, red mustard. (Fig. 30.) 
Range and habitat.—Black mustard, introduced from Europe, is a 
troublesome weed in many parts of the United States. It is common 
in almost every State in the Union along roadsides, in cultivated 
ground, and in waste places, being especially troublesome in grain 
fields and pastures. Both black and white mustards are cultivated in 
California. | 
: _ This plant is a great pest in southern California, covering thousands 
of acres and forming dense, impenetrable thickets over 6 feet in 
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