322 OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 176. 



The plant is a great pest because of its free growth and of its annoying spines. 

 It is most troublesome along the river counties in the southeast, infesting lawns, 

 fields and roadsides. 



Seeds dark, lens shaped, round, very small, 1-40 inch in diameter, smooth 

 and shining. Such a pest as this should not be permitted to invade new 

 districts as it is now doing. Prompt destruction of all plants before seeding, 

 as has been above outlined, will in time free lands from spiny amaranth, while 

 watchfulness about its introduction will be amply repaid. 



105 Juba's Bush, Bloodleaf (A) Ire sine panicu lata (L.) Kuntze. Is 

 known to be present in Ohio; its weedy characters are unknown to the writer. 



POKEWEED FAMILY, PHYTOLACCACE^E. 



106 Poke, Garget (P) Phytolacca decandta L. This is a tall, smooth, plant 

 with thick, red stems, two to six feet high, bearing in the fall an abundance of 

 dark berries in grape-like clusters. It is common in deep soils, forming very 

 thick, deep roots. It seems to be distributed largely by birds that feed upon the 

 berries, possibly by the children who make ink of them. While the young 

 shoots of this plant are frequently used as pot-herbs, the root is violently 

 poisonous. The root furnishes a well known officinal remedy. It is reported 

 that sheep eat the berries and leave the seeds on the high points of their pastures. 

 Pokeberry pies are also a matter of tradition, and while those who eat them 

 may survive, as did my Michigan friend who fed upon the cooked berries of 

 black nightshade, one familiar with the poisonous character of this plant will 

 not be disposed to test such pastry. In fact it would seem safer to omit poke 

 from our dietary. 



Grubbing or cultivation is the best means of eradicating this weed. If cut 

 well below the crown the plant does not usually send up further shoots. 

 INDIAN CHICKWEED FAMILY, AIZOACE^E. 



107 Indian Chickweed, Carpet=weed (A) *Mollugo verticillata L. This 

 is a low, prostrate annual, frequent in the interstices of brick sidewalks about 

 towns and in cultivated grounds. The leaves are clustered at the joints and 

 broader toward the point. Pods many-seeded. Its carpet-like growth is very 

 characteristic. 



Seeds very small, reddish brown, about 1-50 inch long, kidney-shaped, with 

 several longitudinal lines around the back and on the sides. Like purslane the 

 seeds are early matured and prompt destruction of the plants by cultivation is 

 necessary to destroy them. 



PURSLANE FAMILY, PORTULACACE^E. 



108 Purslane, Pursley (A) *Portulaca oleracea L. This prostrate, fleshy- 

 stemmed plant, with fleshy leaves and small j^ellow flowers (opening onl} r on 

 sunny mornings), quickly succeeded by well filled seed capsules, is preeminently 

 a garden pest. It is also found in cultivated fields generally. In the garden we 

 cannot entirely prevent the appearance of purslane even if well trained for other 

 weed destruction. The plant has some value as a food for pigs, but the cost of 

 gathering it is greater than that of producing better food by field crops. This 

 weed is attacked, especially in wet seasons, by a white mold, Cystopus pottulacce 

 (DC.) L^v. It makes small yellow spots in the leaves which soon drop off, 

 thus causing the whole plant to have a sickly appearance. This fungus was 

 an obvious check to the purslane in the season of 1896; the scarcity of purslane 

 during 1897 has been the subject of frequent remark. A leaf miner also works 

 its destruction. Purslane also harbors both the melon plant louse, Aphis 

 gossypii Glov. , and the corn root louse. 



Seeds very small, black, kidney-shaped with a derided snout, marked with 

 fine network. Very careful cultivation is required, in rich land, to keep purs- 

 lane in subjection. 



