The Book of Grasses 



Sorghaslrum nutans 



Indian Grass. Sorghdsirum 

 nutans (L.) Nash. 



Stem 3-8 ft. tall, erect. Ligulc \"-2" 

 long. Leaves 6'- 18' long, 2"-8" 

 wide. 



Panicle 4'-! 2' long, dense, branches 

 erect or slightly spreading. Spike- 

 lets i-flowered, in pairs or 3's; i 

 spikelet of each group sessile and 

 perfect; sterile spikelets reduced 

 to hairy pedicels; perfect spikelets 

 3"-4" long, hairy, shining chestnut 

 brown; scales 4; flowering scale 

 bearing a twisted awn 5"-io" long. 

 Stamens 3, anthers yellow. 



Dry soil, fields, waysides, and borders 

 of woods. August to October. 



Ontario to Manitoba, south to Florida, 

 Texas, and Arizona. 



LARGE CRAB-GRASS, SMALL 



CRAB-GRASS, AND PURPLE 



FINGER-GRASS 



The two Crab-grasses, large 

 and small, are among the many 

 weeds that have obtained a foot- 

 hold in America by smuggling their 

 seeds through the port of entry 

 with those of more important 

 plants. Many of the most com- 

 mon weeds — how many can 

 hardly be known — are those that 

 have emigrated with the white 

 man and have tirelessly followed 

 his footsteps through the New 

 World. Such unwelcome foreign- 

 ers usually take the highways of 

 civilization for their own, and 

 remaining near waysides and in 

 cultivated lands keep the agricul- 

 turist forever busy "plucking up 

 the naughty weeds." 



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