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QRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILT) 



OLD WITCH GRASS 



Pdnicum capillare, L. 



Other English names: Tumbleweed Grass, Tickle Grass, Witch's 



Hair. 



Native. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom: July to September. 

 Seed-time : Late August to November. 

 Range : Nova Scotia to British Columbia, southward to Florida and 



Mexico. 

 Habitat : Sandy soil ; fields and waste places. 



Culms stout, erect, or with decum- 

 bent base, branched and spreading, 

 one to two feet in height. Sheaths 

 very hairy, the blades somewhat less 

 so, the latter a quarter-inch to 

 nearly an inch wide and six inches 

 to a foot long. Panicles very large 

 and spreading, the terminal one often 

 more than a foot long, the branch- 

 lets hair-like, the spikelets very 

 small, containing one tiny, shining 

 grayish brown seed. When mature, 

 the branches become very stiff and 

 brittle and the large panicles break 

 away and are driven before the 

 winds for long distances, often 

 piling in thick windrows against 

 fences. In these journeys the seed- 

 bearing, hair-like but brittle branch- 

 lets are broken from the stalks and 

 the ground over which the tumblers 

 roll is well seeded. In good sod the 

 seed seldom " catches," but on 



stubbles and cultivated ground the plant is a troublesome weed. 



(Fig. 6.) 



Means of control 



Prevent seed production by mowing, hoe-cutting or hand-pulling 

 while in bloom or before. 



FIG. 6. Old Witch Grass (Pan- 

 icum capillare). X J. 



