EUPHORBIACEAE (SPURGE FAMILY) 



263 



possible to remove. Professor Selby, of the Ohio State Experiment 

 Station, wisely remarks that "the time to remove such seeds is 

 before the clover is cut." 



Stem six inches to two feet high, 

 erect, somewhat hairy, often purplish 

 or brown. Leaves alternate, two to 

 four inches in length, long ovate, thin, 

 dark green, often turning to a cop- 

 pery brown, coarsely toothed except 

 near the base. In their axils are the 

 inconspicuous greenish flowers, male 

 and female separate, but growing 

 from the same point, the staminate 

 ones being lifted on a tiny spike, the 

 fertile ones just below, and both sup- 

 ported by a large, leafy, cut-lobed 

 bract, longer than either, usually 

 about a half inch high. Capsules 

 three-celled, each cavity containing 

 one dull reddish brown or gray seed, 

 egg-shaped, and easily crushed be- 

 tween the fingers, which is the reason FIG. 185. T h r e e - s e e d e d 

 why they are called Wax-balls. (Fig. Mercury (Acalypha virginica). 



185.) 



xi. 



Means of control 



Pulling or cutting the weeds before any seeds have matured. 

 Land badly fouled by the seeds should be put to a profitable and 

 thoroughly tilled hoed crop for a season. 



THYME-LEAVED SPURGE 



Euphorbia serpyllifolia, Pers. 



Native. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : May to September. 



Seed-time: June to October. 



Range: Michigan to California, southward to Mexico, Texas, and 



Florida. 

 Habitat : Sandy, alluvial soils ; fields, gardens, waste places. 



