WEEDS OF Till 71 HORACE FAMILY. 



115 



cattle. They are said to retain their vitality for years. Remedies : 

 clean seed; burning wheat stubble in infested fields; if badly in- 

 fested, plowing up the field in early spring ; late fall plowing ; pull- 

 ing or cutting where occurring in small numbers. 



79. ECIIIUM VULGARE L. Blueweed. Viper's Bugloss. (B. I. 1.) 



Erect, branched, bristly-hairy, 1-3 

 feet high ; stein leaves oblong or lance- 

 olate, sessile, entire, 2-6 inches long. 

 Flowers bright blue, tubular, 2/3 to 1 

 inch long, numerous in short, 1-sided 

 spikes; lobes of the corolla unequal. 

 Nutlets ovate, & inch long, wrinkled, 

 their bases flat. (Fig. 79.) 



A European weed as yet re- 

 corded only from the northern part 

 of the State. Occurs along rail- 

 ways, roadsides and in waste 

 places generally, especially in poor 

 or gravelly soils. June-Aug. The 

 numerous hairs harden with age 

 and form sharp prickles which 

 come off easily like the spines of a 

 cactus. Being a biennial it forms 

 the first year a dense rosette of 

 long leaves lying flat on the 

 ground, blooms only the second year, and is especially harmful to 

 pastures and meadows. In Canada it is accounted one of the worst 

 of pasture weeds. Like the Russian thistle it should be killed on 

 sight. Remedies: deep cutting with hoe or spud in early spring; 

 thorough cultivation when found in fields ; repeated scythe mowing 

 close to the ground. 



THE VERVAIN FAMILY. VERBENACEJE. 



Herbs or shrubs with opposite or whorled leaves and perfect 

 flowers usually in spikes or heads. Calyx 4-5 lobed or cleft ; petals 

 united into a more or less two-lipped, usually cylindrical, corolla 

 (this nearly regular in our weeds) : stamens 4, 2 long, 2 short, in- 

 serted on the corolla and alternate with its lobes ; ovary Z-A celled, 



1 ovule in each cavity. Fruit dry, usually splitting when ripe into 



2 or 4 nutlets. 



A large family, mostly represented in the tropics. Only 8 

 species are listed from Indiana, 7 of which belong to the genus 



Fig. 79. (After Vasey.) 



