COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY) 459 



softly hairy, and bearing several small, sharp prickles. These 

 burs are often distributed in the wool of sheep, and the weed 

 is a most vexatious one to owners of flocks. (Fig. 320.) 



Means of control 



Like all weeds that keep a reserve supply of food in underground 

 storage, these are very hard to kill. They must be cut close to the 

 ground in early summer, while in their first bloom, and again in 

 September, in order to make certain that no seed shall be matured. 

 If persistently deprived of the sustenance supplied by leaf-growth 

 the rootstocks must finally be starved to death. Large areas are 

 best subdued by deep plowing and exposure of rootstocks in hot 

 weather as recommended for Perennial Ragweed. 



WOOLLY FRANSERIA 



Franseria tomentbsa, Gray 

 (Gaertneria tomentdsa, Kuntze) 



Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds and by rootstocks. 

 Time of bloom: July to September. 

 Seed-time: September to November. 

 Range: Montana, southward to Colorado and Kansas. 

 Habitat: Moist, rich soil; cultivated ground, meadows, pastures, 

 and waste places. 



Similar to the preceding plant, the two often growing in company. 

 It is larger, the stems usually one to three feet tall, erect, branching 

 from the base, covered with fine, white-woolly hair. Leaves softly 

 woolly on both sides or silky and ashy above, pinnately three- to 

 seven-lobed, with segments lance-shaped, usually toothed, the 

 middle, or terminal, lobe much the largest. Sterile racemes usually 

 solitary, two to four inches long, the heads crowded and a little 

 larger than F. discolor. Fertile involucres usually solitary in the 

 upper axils, about a quarter-inch lo"ng, softly woolly, and set with 

 very sharp spines, which are finely hooked at the very tip so that 

 sheep and other animals catch them at a touch and they are 

 even more readily and extensively distributed than the preceding 

 species. 



Means of control the same as for the preceding plant 



