SCROPHULARIACEAE (FIGWORT FAMILY) 385 



Seed-time: Late May until snow-covered. 



Range : Labrador to Alaska, southward to the Gulf of Mexico. 



Habitat: Moist grass lands, waste places. 



One of the commonest of pasture weeds the world over, but so 

 small and inconspicuous that it is hardly noticed until it monopo- 

 lizes much of the ground. Often called "Creeping Speedwell" 

 because it lies so close to the earth, rooting at nearly every joint 

 and erecting only its flowering stalks. Much trampling from the 

 sharp hoofs of cattle and sheep does it no harm, for, though cut all 

 to bits, the fragments take root and continue to grow. 



Stems two to ten inches long, smooth or only slightly hairy, 

 branching on all sides from the root. Lower leaves opposite, ovate, 

 rounded, nearly smooth, with short petioles ; those on the erect 

 part of the stems alternate, sessile, narrow, becoming mere lance- 

 shaped bracts in the axils of which sit the tiny flowers ; these are 

 similar to the preceding species in structure, pale blue or white, 

 striped with darker color, and less than a quarter-inch broad. 

 Capsules broadly heart-shaped, nearly as large as the flowers, con- 

 taining many yellow, flattened seeds as fine as dust. 



Means of control the same as for the Common Speedwell. 



PURSLANE SPEEDWELL 

 Verdnica peregrlna, L. 



Other English names: Neckweed, Winter Purslane. 

 Native. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom : April until frost. 

 . Seed-time: Late May until snow-covered. 



Range: Nova Scotia to British Columbia, southward to the Gulf 



of Mexico. 

 Habitat : Gardens, cultivated fields, grasslands, roadsides, and waste 



places. 



This plant was named "neck weed" when it and other members 

 of its family were considered good remedies for the scrofulous 

 sores that often appeared on the neck ; "Winter Purslane" because 

 the abundant seed sown by the plants of the previous summer 

 springs so suddenly into life at the disappearance of the winter's 

 snow. 



2c 



