130 



NYCTAQINACEAE (FOUR-O'CLOCK FAMILY) 



FIG. 82. Heart-leaved Um- 

 brella-wort (Oxybaphus nycta- 

 gineus). X J. 



mature until it becomes nearly an inch 

 broad, thin, and net-veined, acting as 

 a parachute in the distribution of the 

 seeds ; each small blossom has a bell- 

 shaped five-lobed, red perianth, with 

 three to five stamens and one style, 

 both exserted. Ovary one-celled, the 

 fruit a small, hard, achene-like, nar- 

 rowly obovoid, ribbed, and hairy nut- 

 let, possessed of long vitality. (Fig. 82.) 



Means of control 



Prevent seeding. Cultivation will 

 cleanse infested fields of the perennial 

 roots, but small areas newly con- 

 taminated should be hand-pulled 

 when the ground is soft, or should be 

 grubbed out, or cut close to the 

 ground and the fleshy root-crowns 

 treated with salt in order to prevent 

 too swift a recovery. 



HAIRY UMBRELLA-WORT 



Oxybaphus hirsutus, Sweet 

 (Allidnia hirsuta, Pursh.) 



Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : July to August. 



Seed-time: August to September. 



Range: Wisconsin to the Plains of the Saskatchewan, southward to 

 Colorado and Texas. Locally in Ohio, New York, and Con- 

 necticut. 



Habitat: Prairies; dry fields and meadows. 



Even more resistant than the preceding species to summer's 

 drought and winter's freezing. Stem one to three feet tall, erect, 

 angled, ridged, sparingly branched, clothed with glandular jointed 

 hairs, especially at the nodes, which are somewhat swollen. Leaves 

 also hairy, oblong or narrowly lance-shaped, with prominent mid- 

 vein, entire, sessile, or the lower ones very short-petioled. Flowers 



