Volume 7 August 31, 191 1 



MUHLENBERGIA 



LIBRAI 



NEW YC 



NOTES FROM NORTHERN UTAH— III 

 By C. p. Smith 



ISATis TINCTORIA L. Early in May while Mr. Geo. L. 

 Ziindel and myself were driving along a lane southwest of Brig- 

 ham, I stopped and gathered a lone roadside specimen of a small 

 flowered mustard new to me. A few rods further on two or 

 three more plants were secured, and soon a third stop was made 

 in front of a dwelling, where a large patch of the same species 

 was too interesting to be passed. Here the plant was of the 

 habit of the common tansy, and I had no thought but that it 

 was planted there, as tansy and such plants are semi-cultivated 

 about houses; hence I was surprised when informed by the "lady 

 of the house" that it was a weed that had recently appeared in 

 their vicinity, was now common in the fields, and had not been 

 knowingly planted in front of her place. Well-.started fruit was 

 obtained here, and reference to Nelson's Manual, a copy of 

 which was at hand, left us convinced that the plant was not to 

 be determined with that book. 



A half hour later large patches of yellow in distant fields 

 attracted our attention, patches that would have been carelessly 

 accepted as Brassica nigra without examination, had the time 

 been about the middle of June; but our new experience was 

 still in mind, .so we drove far out of our way to investigate. 

 We were well paid for our trouble, indeed, for there was our 

 plant in grain and alfalfa fields, much imitating the habit of the 

 common and notorious black mustard, and prolific enough to 

 suggest its l)eco!ning an equally bad weed in this country. 

 Altho so common there now, it was a new plant for Mr. Zundel 

 also, and as he has spent most of his life about Brigham, know- 

 ing the country well, w'e can believe that the plant may be of 

 recent introduction, 



(61) 



