T202 



Home Nature- Study Course, 



the pollen dust is carried by the wind, more often by insects; discover, 

 if you can, which are your weed's pollen-carriers. Do the flowers open 

 all at once or in long succession? Where in the spikes or clusters do 

 the blossoms first open? Where are the flowers placed that open last? 

 (lo). Do the seeds begin to ripen early and continue to do so in long 

 succession, or mature all at once, like a head of wheat? Does the seed- 

 vessel hold many or few seeds, and how and where does it open to set 

 them free ? Have the seeds or seed-vessels any hooks or wings or plumes 

 by which they may be carried away to new homes by winds or birds 

 or animals? Do birds like the seeds and feed on them? Does any 

 animal eat them? Are the seeds or any part of the plant on which 

 they grew of any use to man? Seeds of most weeds are very long-lived; 

 if blown beneath stones or to any other place where it would be impos- 

 sible to grow they bravely bide their time. Tiny as it is, the common 

 purslane retains its power to sprout and grow for six years, and other 

 weeds are even longer lived. This shows that one way of fighting weeds 

 is to prevent them from ripening any seed whatever. 



ANNUAL WEEDS 



Purslane {Portulaca oleracea). — This is one of the " peskiest " among annual 

 weeds, and anything " meaner than pusley " must be bad indeed. Still, it has 

 the one good quality of not pushing itself forward very early in the season, but 



waits till the warm days of 

 late May or June to spread its 

 pale green seedlings over the 

 ground, just when the early 

 garden plants are in need of 

 tillage which will bring des- 

 truction to many of the sprout- 

 ing pests. But once started it 

 is amazingly hardy, even tak- 

 ing root again after it has 

 been pulled up bodily, if 

 thrown down where the tip of 

 a root can touch moist soil. 

 Its thick, reddish, succulent 

 stems, branching out in all 

 directions like so rnany elongated earthworms, are thickly set at their tips and 

 more scantily along their sides with small, yellowish-green, rounded, fleshy and 

 stemless leaves. These juicy stems and leaves contain enough moisture to keep 

 the uptom plant alive until it has readjusted itself if not placed where the feat 

 is impossible. 



It makes up for its late appearance by maturing swiftly; beginning to bloom 

 in the latter part of June and keeping up a succession of flowers and seed until 

 cut off by frost. The small, yellow, five-petaled flowers open only in the brightest 



Purslane — with seed urn enlarged and open 



