WEEDS AND GRASSES. 263 
a small yellow bloom. Its botanical name is Medi- 
cago lupulina. It would not be classed as a weed 
only that it is so often used to adulterate alfalfa 
seed. It is a cheaper seed than alfalfa and much 
imported seed is adulterated with. this, and some 
unscrupulous seedsmen bring the seed over espe- 
cially for purpose of mixing with alfalfa seed. It 
is a good pasture plant and in Europe is often sown 
with other clovers to make a good bottom for cattle 
to bite. It has no especial value with us, but is in no 
sense dangerous. It is a biennial. 
‘We have reserved the worst for the last. Dodder 
is the arch enemy of the alfalfa grower. Dodders 
are parasitic plants that begin life from seeds 
dropped on the ground, developing slender, nearly 
leafless twining stalks. These stems wherever they 
touch plants of their liking send out roots that pene- 
trate the host plant and suck its juices. Afterward 
the parasite does not again send roots into the soil, 
but twines from stem to stem of the unfortunate host 
plant until it is tied together in a tangled mass. Ulti- 
mately the host plants are usually destroyed. Dod- 
der has usually bright yellow or orange colored 
stems, nearly leafless, with very small flowers close 
to the stems and many seeds. There are dodders 
that attack various species of plants, including red 
clover and alfalfa. 
Dodder always starts from seed which is found 
mixed with clover and alfalfa seed. At first there 
will be a very small spot infected at each center 
where a seed dropped; later it will be a spot as big 
