92 POLYGONACEAE (BUCKWHEAT FAMILY) 
Seed-time: July to October. = . 
Range: Throughout the United States and southern British America. 
Habitat: Meadows, pastures, farmyards, and waste places. 
The root of this plant is spindle-shaped, thick, yellow, often two 
or three feet long. . Stem two to four feet tall, erect, slender, 
smooth, finely grooved, simple or with a few branches near the top. 
; Basal leaves oblong lance-shaped, 
six inches to more than a foot in 
length, with margins usually wavy- 
curled; petioles long and _ stout; 
upper leaves much smaller, with 
shorter petioles. Flowers in large, 
simple or compound racemes, often 
more than a foot in length, growing 
in crowded whorls on slender, jointed 
pedicels; they are small and green- 
ish, without petals, but having six 
stamens; styles three, with stigmas 
tufted; calyx of six sepals in 
double rows of three, the inner ones 
heart-shaped, beautifully veined, 
uniting te form valves that enclose 
the seed, giving it triple wings, 
which assists its distribution by 
wind ; all three valves have a rather 
thick, rounded, corky tubercle on 
the back. Achenes _ three-sided, 
plump, with rounded tips, smooth, 
Hiss abe ian eine seston about one-twelfth of an inch 
(ounexetermmal. SEG, ong. Birds are very fond of them 
and forage on the brown, weather- 
beaten panicles all winter. They are a very common impurity 
of clover and alfalfa seeds ; and, though the task of removing them 
is difficult, it is not so strenuous as grubbing Docks. (Fig. 53.) 
Means of control 
Prevent seed production. In order to destroy the perennial 
roots, deep and frequent cutting, with hoe or spud, is necessary 
