DODDER—STICKTIGHT 33 



stubble they may be destroyed by fall or spring cultivation. Late 

 summer plowing is also useful in eradicating this weed. Special care 

 should be taken to avoid sowing the seed. 



Dodder (Species of Cuscuta) 



Other common names. — Hail-weed, hairweed, ail-weed, strangle 

 weed, scold-weed, strangle tare, devils-gut, hellweed, and love vine. 



Description. — Dodder is an annual weed which is parasitic in its 

 nature. The plant starts from the seed and forms a threadlike branch 

 which winds around some growing plant, sending small parasitic roots 

 into it. The dodder plant then detaches itself from the soil by the dying 

 away of its lower stem, and lives entirely upon the plant which it 

 has attacked. Dodder attacks many different kinds of plants. There 

 are several varieties, two of which grow particularly well on alfalfa, 

 while two attack red clover and one grows on flax. At the present 

 time dodder has not secured a strong foothold in this State but it 

 is quite common in western states and in Europe and great care must 

 be taken in sowing seeds that no dodder is sown. The plant flowers 

 in the middle of the summer and early fall and seeds ripen from the 

 latter part of July to September. The leaves of the plant are so 

 modified that they are very inconspicuous and appear as scales along 

 the sides of the stem. The plant is generally yellow and the seeds 

 are not very large, although the size varies with the variety. For 

 instance, the seeds of the small-seeded alfalfa dodder are very much 

 smaller .than those of the large-seeded variety. Dodder seeds are 

 found particularly in the seed of alfalfa, clovers, and flax. 



Eradication. — Prevention rather than eradication should be the 

 rule with dodder. A careful examination of the clover and alfalfa 

 seed should be made and any seed that contains dodder seed rejected. 

 If an alfalfa field is badly infested with dodder it should be plowed 

 and put into other crops for a few years. Where alfalfa is grown 

 for hay for two or three years, the original seeds will be exhausted 

 and the dodder eradicated, as the early and frequent cutting will pre- 

 vent new seeds from forming. 



Sticktight (Lappula lappula L.) 



Other common names. — Stickseed, beggar's lice, European stick- 

 seed, bur seed, sheep bur, small sheep bur, and blue bur. 



Description. — Sticktight is an annual or winter annual which was 

 introduced from Europe and which has now become quite generally 

 distributed throughout this State. Only recently has this weed been 



