OROBANCHACEAE (BROOM-RAPE FAMILY) 387 



ovate, obtuse at both ends, scallop-toothed ; upper ones alternate, 

 sessile, lance-shaped, and entire; stem and foliage softly hairy. 

 Flowers axillary, hardly an eighth of an inch broad, pale blue or 

 white, on very short pedicels. Capsules heart-shaped, larger than 

 the flowers, filled with yellow, minute seeds which are ripened and 

 distributed all summer. 

 Means of control the same as for Purslane Speedwell. 



FIELD SPEEDWELL 



Verdnica agrestis, L. 



Other English names : Germander Chiekweed, Winter Weed, Garden 



Speedwell. 



Introduced. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom: May to September. 

 Seed-time: June to October. 

 Range: Nova Scotia to Georgia and Texas. 

 Habitat : Fields, gardens, and waste places. 



Stems very slender, three to eight inches long, branching from 

 the base, spreading, procumbent, with smaller branches ascending. 

 Leaves broadly ovate, obtuse at tips, rounded or heart-shaped at 

 base, scallop-toothed, the lower ones opposite and petioled, the 

 upper ones alternate and sessile ; the whole plant clothed with fine, 

 soft hair. Flowers axillary and single, on very slender, hairy 

 peduncles longer than the leaves ; calyx-lobes hairy and larger 

 than the corolla, which is pale blue and about a quarter-inch broad. 

 Capsule heart-shaped, thickened, much broader than long, few- 

 seeded. 



Means of control the same as for Purslane Speedwell. 



BRANCHED BROOM-RAPE 

 Orobdnche ramdsa, L. 



Other English names : Hemp Broom-rape, Tobacco Broom-rape. 



Introduced. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : June to August. 



Seed-time : July to September. 



Range: Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New 



Jersey. 

 Habitat : Hemp and tobacco fields ; parasitic on tomatoes in New 



Jersey truck gardens. 



