WEEDS AND PARASITIC FLOWERING PLANTS I55I 



" witch's broom " which grows slowly and attains to enormous proportions. 

 The habit and appearance of the tree is entirely altered. Often under the 

 stress of snow and wind the " brooms " split and fall to the ground, where, 

 piled round the foot of the tree, the}' constitute a serious danger in case of 

 ground fires. 



On the trunk the presence of Razoumofskya leads to the formation of 

 burls. When the infection occurs at the base of a branch and then travels 

 towards the main trunk the result is a " broom " which later dries up and 

 falls, leaving in its place a burl which is more or less scarred If, on the con- 

 trary, infection occurs directly on the main trtmk, the beginning of a burl 

 is at once formed, and this radiates ou.t wards and becomes fan-shaped 

 keeping time with the gromh of the tree. Finallj' the central part of the 

 swelling disintegrates lea\'ing a wide opening more or less deep. This is 

 a convenient entrance for boring insects and for numbers of fungi, which 

 find the decomposing tissues an excellent substratum : Trameies Pint (Brot.) 

 Fr... T. serialis Vi.,P.volvatus PR., Forties Laricis {] acq.) ^.inrr., F.pinicola 

 Fr., Stereum snlcatum Burt., Poly porus sulphur ens Vx.,Lcnzites sepiariaVr., 

 Corticium Berkeleyi Cooke, C. galactinitm (FR.) Burt., Peniophora suhsiil- 

 phurea (Karst) Burt, Ceratostomella pilifera (Fr.) Wint., and, less often, 

 Pholiota adiposa PFr., and Echinodotium tindorium. 



The following means of suppressing Razoumofskya are suggested ; 

 i) to fell and remove all badly infected trees, which may or mory not 

 be a useful measure ; 



2) strict control of nurseries and supervision of plants coming from 

 infected areas ; 



3) to plant conifers closely, and eventually to associate them with 

 other species such as yews and junipers which will shut out the light, as 

 shade discourages the development of mistletoe. 



ii^b - Asphodelus fistulosus and Stachys arvensis. Harmful Weeds in 



New South Wales. - MAiDiix, J. H., in The Airicultural Gazette of Neiv South Wales, 

 \'()1 XXVIIl, Part. 3, pp. 335-338, 2 PL, Sydney, 1916. 



A description of Asphodelus iisittlosus L. (" onion weed ") and of the 

 labiate Stachys arvensis {" stagger weed "). 



In Australia the first of these weeds is known not only in New South 

 Wales b\it also in central Australia (where it is common), in Victoria and in 

 western Australia ; it has not yet been recorded from Queensland. It 

 tends to overrun the groimd wherever it manages to establish itself, and no 

 animal appears to feed on it except by accident. Biirning it before the 

 flowering season, if possible entirely, is the best method of suppressing this 

 weed. 



5. arvensis is common in central Australia, in New South Wales, in 

 Queensland and in Victoria ; in New South Wales it is especially frequent, 

 and is reported as causing serious trouble among cattle. As it thrives best 

 in damp places it is advisable to improve the drainage of pasture lands to 

 encourage the development of useful plants. 



(1) See also B. Dec. 1913, No. 1403, and B. Feb. iqm, No. 187. (£d. 



