508 COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY) 
Range: Newfoundland to Florida, westward to Ontario, Missouri, 
‘and Texas. 
Habitat: Moist fields and meadows, banks of streams, and swamps. 
The slender, creeping rootstocks of this plant are strong-scented, 
whence its name of False Valerian. It is said to be unwholesome 
for cattle and horses, but not so much so as Senécio Jacobaéa; 
sheep feed on it, however, without any apparent harm. 
Stems two or three from the same root, very slender, grooved, ~ 
marked with twisting brown streaks, one to three feet tall. When 
young the whole plant is webby-haired but soon becomes smooth. 
Root leaves appear in early April and look somewhat like those of 
the violet; heart-shaped, rather thick in texture, scallop-toothed, 
dark green above, purplish red beneath, with long, slim petioles. 
Stem leaves very different; the lower ones oblong, pinnatifid, with 
terminal segments large, and with short, margined petioles; those 
near the top more slender, sessile, and clasping. Flowers in open, 
flat clusters, the heads nearly an inch broad, with eight to twelve 
deep golden rays and brownish orange disks, both kinds of florets 
fertile. Achenes ribbed and smooth, with very copious, silky, 
white pappus, by which they are borne far on the winds. 
Means of control 
Prevent spreading by seed production by cutting while in first 
bloom. In small areas, rootstocks may be hand-pulled or grubbed 
out; but drainage and cultivation of the ground are necessary in 
order to cleanse rankly infested fields and meadows of this weed. 
GREAT BURDOCK 
Arctium Léppa, L. 
Other English names: Beggar’s Buttons, Cockle Button, Hardock, 
Hurr-bur. 
Introduced. Biennial. Propagates by seeds. 
Time of bloom: July to October. 
Seed-time: The earlier flowers mature in September, but fruits re- 
main on the stalks all winter if not disseminated nor destroyed. 
Range: Eastern Canada and New England, southward to Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio: locally in Middle Western States. 
Habitat: Fence rows, roadsides, and waste places. 
