MINNESOTA WEEDS, SERIES III 31 



the plant is distributed, are black or blackish brown ; about twice as 

 long as wide ; and three-sided, two sides being flat and the other side 

 curved. They are often found in "commercial seed of red clover, tim- 

 othy, alsike clover, wheat, oats, and alfalfa, and sometimes in flax. 

 Eradication. — Sow only clean grain. Have grass seed examined 

 for purity before sowing. Pull or spade out all plants. 



Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa L.) 



Other common names. — Oswego tea, horsemint. 



Description. — Wild bergamot is a perennial plant generally found 

 in open woods and thickets and on dry rocky hills. It blooms from 

 June to September and seeds from July to October. The plant grows 

 from two to three feet high and has a very distinct aromatic odor. 

 The flowers vary from purplish to yellowish pink, white, and dotted, 

 and are clustered in a solitary head at the end of the branch. Wild 

 bergamot propagates by seed and by division of its roots. The brown- 

 ish green seeds are seldom found in commercial seed samples. 



Eradication. — Wild bergamot is not troublesome in cultivated crops 

 or tilled land. Eradicate by digging out the plants or plowing the 

 land. 



Common Plantain (Plantago major L.) 



Other common names. — Greater plantain, dooryard plantain, bird- 

 seed plantain, wayside plantain, broad-leaved plantain, and round-leaf 

 plantain. 



Description. — Common plantain is a perennial plant found com- 

 monly on lawns, along roadsides, and in waste places. It flowers from 

 May to September and seeds from July to October. The leaves are 

 very broad and quite leathery. The small, white flowers appear in 

 long cylindrical spikes. Plantain reproduces itself by means of seeds 

 which often appear in commercial seed of red clover, timothy, alsike 

 clover, and white clover, and sometimes in redtop and bluegrass. 



Eradication. — Meadows infested with plantain should be plowed 

 and thoroly cleaned. A hoed crop or bare fallow gives excellent re- 

 sults. In reseeding the land use only well-cleaned and certified seed. 



Lawns that are badly infested should be spaded up, cultivated, 

 heavily manured, and reseeded thickly to pure Kentucky bluegrass and 

 white clover or to any good lawn-grass mixture. Top-dress the lawn 



