A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS 93 



Milk Purslane no. 268 



Plants scarcely or not at all hairy; juice not milky, leaves plain 

 green 

 Leaves opposite, almost scale-like ; flower green 



Parsley-piert no. 269 



Leaves alternate, at least Yz in. wide ; flower pinkish 



Knot Grass no. 270 



Leaves in clusters of 5 or 6; flowers whitish 



Carpet-weed no. 271 



268. Milk Purslane. Chamacsyce nmculata. {Euphorbia 

 maciilata.) (EupJiorbiaceae.) A hairy spreading prostrate 

 herb with milky juice and brownish or reddish blotches on 

 its opposite, almost stalkless, leaves that are slightly oblique 

 at the base. Leaves %-i in. long, and about half as wide, 

 usually finely toothed. Flowers solitary at the leaf insertion, 

 reddish white, without true petals. In dry, usually sandy soil. 

 June-Sept. Ontario and New England to Florida and west- 

 ward. See No. 252. 



269. Parsley-piert. Scleranthus anmius. (Corrigiolaccac.) 

 Much branched, prostrate herb, not over 6 in. long, usually 

 quite smooth, the stem slightly sw^ollen at the leaf-bases. 

 Leaves opposite, %-^ in. long, the tips sharp-pointed and 

 often curved. Flowers less than ^ in. in diameter, green, at 

 the tips of tiny stalks arising between the leaves. Petals 

 none. Fields and roadsides, or in waste places. A common 

 weed introduced from Europe. April-Sept. Quebec and On- 

 tario to Florida, and westward. Fig. 269. 



270. Knot grass. Polygonum aviculare. (Polygonaceae.) 

 One of a group of weedy herbs, some erect, others hugging 

 the ground, and some like P. aviculare merely weak or 

 prostrate. Stems wiry and tough, usually striped or grooved. 

 Leaves alternate, very short stalked, and pointed at both 

 ends, ^-lYi in. long, about half as wide. On the stem near 

 each leaf insertion there is a tiny silvery-shredded sheath. 

 Petals none, but flowers pinkish-purple, in small clusters at 

 the leaf bases, less than % in. wide. Throughout North 

 America as one of our commonest weeds, also nearly through- 

 out Europe and Asia. June-October. Fig. 270. There are 

 several other species, distinguished by rather technical char- 



