22 MINNESOTA WEEDS 



Description. — This plant within recent years has been found to 

 be a good forage grass and possibly should not be described as a 

 weed. It is, however, often mistaken for quack grass, so a descrip- 

 tion of it is given. The seeds are so similar to those of quack grass 

 that it is almost impossible to note any differences between single 

 seeds. 



Slender wheat grass is a perennial with fibrous roots. The 

 plant is from two to three feet tall and generally grows in bunches. 

 The leaves are somewhat narrower than those of quack grass. The 

 flowering heads are much longer than the heads of quack grass and 

 somewhat narrower. The head is divided into sections called spike- 

 lets, and each spikelet, when mature, has from three to five seeds. 

 These seeds are easily separated. Some of the differences, then, 

 between slender wheat grass and quack grass are: 



1. Quack grass has long running root stalks. Slender wheat 



has a fibrous root system 



2. The flowering head of quack grass is shorter and wider than 



the head of slender wheat grass. 



3. The seeds of slender wheat grass shell out more easily than 



those of quack grass. 



4. Quack grass has more seeds in a spikelet than slender wheat 



grass. 



5. Quack grass is a perennial weed. Slender wheat grass is a 



perennial forage grass. 



The seeds of slender wheat grass ripen early in July and the 

 plant has no other method of propagation. It is found in dry soil 

 in nearly all portions of Minnesota, particularly in cultivated fields. 

 The seeds mingle with those of brome grass and other forage grasses 

 and are sometimes found on the market under the name of western 

 rye grass to be sown for forage purposes. 



Eradication. — Slender wheat grass yields readily to cultivation 

 and is not regarded as a weed. Plowing the land is usually sufficient 

 to eradicate it. Where persistent, discing and harrowing may be 

 resorted to, or a cultivated crop grown. 



Yellow Foxtail (Chaetochloa glauca L. Nash) 



( nlicr common name. — Pigeon grass. 



Description.— Yellow foxtail is a very common annual plant 

 closel) resembling the common millet. It ranges from one to two 

 led, high, and ii has wide spreading branches mostly coming from 

 I lie crown of the rool The head is from one to three inches long, 

 and is densely covered with yellow bristles. The root is fibrous. 

 The seed is flal on one side and oval in general form. Its color ranges 



