loo A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS 



Leaves sharp-pointed, not under 3 in. long; flower cluster mostly 

 terminal. 



289. Green Amaranth. Amaranthns retro flexus. A stout, 

 often rough hairy herb, 2-6 ft. tall with coarse long-stalked 

 leaves 3-6 in. long, lance-shaped and pointed both ends. 

 Flower clusters mostly dense terminal spikes, but a few 

 among the upper leaves, often reddish tinged, but usually 

 green. A common weed throughout North America. Native 

 of tropical America. September. Fig. 289. A related species, 

 A. hyhridus, of the same range and origin has flower clusters 

 about one half as large, usually less than ^4 i^^- ^^ diameter. 

 Leaves rounded at the tip, but v^ith a minute prickle, not over i>^ in. 

 long; flower-clusters mostly from among the leaves. 



290. Tumble-weed. Amaranthus graecisans. A pale green, 

 smooth, weedy plant with whitish branches, from 6-20 in. 

 tall. Leaves narrowed at the base into a short stalk. Flower 

 clusters usually not longer than the leaves, often as short 

 as the leaf stalk, green. June-Sept. As the leaves drop in 

 the fall, the stiff wiry stems are often uprooted and driven 

 by the wind, — an admirable device to spread its seeds, hence 

 its common name. 



291. PINWEEDS. LECHEA. CISTACEAE. 



Low perennial plants, growing nearly always in dry sand 

 or in rocky places. Stems often a little woody at the base. 

 Leaves of two kinds ; one set borne on the stems and often 

 as narrow as %o i^^v never more than Yz in. wide and pointed 

 at the tip ; the other set, flat on the ground, appearing from 

 the base of the stems late in the season, and often of very 

 different shape and size from s'tem leaves. Flowers in minute 

 clusters, the individual flower scarcely ^lo in. across, green- 

 ish or purplish, with 3 minute petals. Fruit a tiny capsule. 

 There are eight or nine species in the region, all called Pin- 

 weeds. Few of them are distinguished as species by amateurs 

 as they are puzzling. See also Nos. 334 and 480. Two of the 

 commonest are : 



Leaves of the basal shoots oblong or oval, about half as wide as 

 they are long; stem leaves about 34 i"- wide. 



