Recent Indiana Weeds, 1923 215 



Fanweed (French weed, penny cress, stinkweed) was located during 

 early June in an alfalfa field on the John Danglade Farm in Switzer- 

 land County. The infested section of the field was immediately cut 

 and burned and it is hoped that the weed was completely destroyed by 

 this means. The same species was again located during early September 

 on the farm of E. D. Stevenson, Carlos, Indiana, where it was going to 

 seed in a cornfield. 



Knawel or German Knot Grass. — Scleranthus annuus L. Knawel 

 is one of the worst of weeds in the trucking districts of Virginia and 

 in other sections of the eastern United States, but the plant is rare 

 in the middle west. The species is not represented in the Gray Her- 

 barium by specimens from Indiana and has previously been reported but 

 once in this state, when it was recorded by Nieuwland at Webster's 

 Station.- Knawel was collected at Shipshewana, Indiana, on July 19, 

 1923, where it is a weed of scattered occurrence. 



Gumweed. — Grindelia squarrosa Dunal. Gumweed is a dangerous 

 weed in the wheat fields of the northwest where the gummy parts 

 of the flowering heads remain in the wheat after threshing and impart 

 a disagreeable pine-like odor and flavor to the flour. It is a perennial 

 that is native on the western plains. 



The only record of the occurrence of gumweed in Indiana is a single 

 report from Cass County recorded in Coulter's catalogue of Indiana 

 plants. Specimens were received on July 20, 1923, from West Lebanon, 

 Indiana, and one of them was deposited in the Gray Herbarium, which 

 previously contained no record of the occurrence of this species in 

 Indiana. 



Yellow Star Thistle. — Centaurea solstitialis L. The yellow star 

 thistle is reputed to be one of the most damaging of grainfield weeds in 

 California. The species was located on the farm of Cyrus McGregor, 

 Princeton, Indiana, R. R. 1, where it infested a field of alfalfa. The 

 seeds of the yellow star thistle are difficult to remove from alfalfa and 

 the plant was probably introduced by means of impure seed. 



Hoary Alyssum. — Berteroa incana DC. Hoary alyssum is said to 

 have been introduced into the United States comparatively recently 

 by means of European red clover seed. On account of its prolific seed 

 production this species is thought to be a dangerous weed the further 

 spread of which should be stopped. The plant is becoming common in 

 New England and New York where it was first noted about thirty 

 years ago. 



Specimens of hoary alyssum were received on June 16, 1923, from 

 County Agent C. A. Jackson, of Goshen, with the notation that the plant 

 is a weed on a run-down eighty acre farm in Elkhart County. A small 

 patch of the plant was found by the writer thriving on a vacant lot in 

 West Lafayette, but all members of this small colony were destroyed 

 before seeds ripened. 



Hare's Ear Mustard. — Conringia onentalis Dumort. This species is 

 of comparatively recent occurrence in the United States. It is said to 

 have been introduced during the early nineties in European flax seed. 



= Amer. Mid. Nat., 3:280:1914. 



