354 



OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 175. 



Seeds straw color, flat, round to egg-shaped, 1-10 inch long-, smooth, liber- 

 ated by the decay or opening - of the berry. To destroy horse-nettle the under- 

 ground stems must be starved out. For this purpose, especially in pastures, 

 but few methods of destruction can be used. If cut off with the hoe and then 

 salted freely as often as the plants show green leaves, stock will seek the salt 

 and materially assist in the destruction of the young* plants, while of itself the 

 salt and cutting tend to destroy them. Two or three seasons of continuous care 

 will be needed to kill out the horse-nettle. Kerosene and sulfuric acid may be 

 used instead of salt, but do not invite the stock to assist. 



273 Bittersweet (P) *Solanum Dulcamara L. This climbing, perennial, 

 European plant has heart-shaped lower and halberd-shaped upper leaves 

 (leaflets) with two ear-like lobes at the base, and purple or bluish flowers in 

 small clusters, followed by oval red berries. It has become introduced in waste 

 places and especially about old dwellings. It should be destroyed to prevent 

 its spreading. The plant is said to be poisonous. Seeds almost circular, flat, 

 with rough-pitted surface; occurring in European alfalfa seed. 



274 Black Nightshade (A) Solatium nigrum L. Black nightshade is a 

 common weed about dwellings. It has low, smooth, branched stems, egg-shaped 

 wavy-toothed leaves, white flowers and black, globular berries. The plant is 

 very poisonous and children are at times poisoned from eating the berries. Safety 

 demands the destruction of this weed. 



275 Buffalo=bur, Sand=bur (A) *Solanum rostratum Dunal. A prickly 

 fruited, potato-like plant, is a recent introduction from the plains of the west. 

 It is commonly very prickly, 1 to 

 2 feet high, with prickly, light- 

 colored leaves, resembling those 

 of the potato in shape and hav- 

 ing the berry enclosed in a 

 densely prickly covering; flowers 

 yellow, root annual. A few years 

 ago the first of this weed for Ohio 

 was discovered about the grounds 

 of Sells Brothers circus, near 

 Columbus, since that time it has 

 been scattered in western seeds, 

 in hay and the like, to many parts 

 of the state. One correspondent 

 aptly described it as looking as 

 if it were a cross between the 

 thistle and the potato. 



Seeds black or greenish, com- 

 monly kidney form, angled, 1-10 

 inch long, the coat pitted all over 

 with bubble-like pits or cavities. 

 Frequently distributed in west- 

 ern seeds and hay. Buffalo-bur 

 may easily be recognized by its 

 prickly fruit and its resemblance 

 to the potato. It should promptly 

 be pulled up wherever found 

 and burned. 



Fig. 51. Buffalo-bur. 



