SOL AN ACE AE (NIGHTSHADE FAMILY) 369 



open racemose clusters, on prickly peduncles from the side of the 

 stem, the corolla wheel-shaped, nearly an inch broad, golden yel- 

 low, its five lobes slightly irregular, the stamens and the style 

 declined ; the lowest of the five stamens much longer than the 

 others and with an incurved beak ; calyx densely prickly, becoming 

 the bur that encloses the fruit. The plant frequently becomes 

 a tumbleweed, distributing its burs as it rolls before the winds. 



Means of control 



Prevent seed production. Being annual the weed can readily 

 be suppressed if it is persistently cut or pulled while in early flower. 

 Other tasks may well be postponed for a day or two in order to 

 rid the ground of so undesirable a tenant. 



MEXICAN GROUND CHERRY 



Phi/salis ixocdrpa, Brotero 



Other English names: Strawberry Tomato, Tomatillo. 



Introduced. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : July to September. 



Seed-time: Late August to November. 



Range : Southern and Southwestern States ; cultivated for its 



fruit, and freely escaping. Local farther north. 

 Habitat : Rich soil ; fields and waste places. 



The fruit of this plant has a pleasant flavor, either in the fresh 

 state or when used in catsups and sauces ; birds also like the fruit 

 and void the seeds unharmed, and in this and other ways the plant 

 often becomes a troublesome weed. 



Stem one to nearly three feet in length, much branched, at first 

 erect but later drooped and spreading, woody at base, angled, 

 smooth except for sparse hairiness on growing branchlets. Leaves 

 long-ovate, pointed, coarsely wavy-toothed or entire, the base 

 wedge-shaped and tapering to a slender petiole. Flowers solitary, 

 springing from the side of the stem slightly above the axils ; corolla 

 bell-shaped, five-lobed, about a half-inch broad, yellow with pur- 

 plish throat ; stamens five, erect, with anthers separate ; calyx 

 at first short and spreading, but as the fruit begins to form it 



2B 



