MINNESOTA WEEDS, SERIES III 33 



frequently and encourage a thick growth of grass. Remove stray 

 plants from the lawn by pulling after a rain or by running a sharp 

 knife deeply under the crown and pulling. Keep the lawn mowed 

 closely and allow no plants to go to seed. 



Bracted Plantain i 'Plant ago aristata Michx.) 



Other common names. — Western buckhorn, bristly buckhorn, and 

 western ripple grass. 



Description. — Bracted plantain is an annual or winter annual, and 

 as yet is not very widely distributed throughout the state. The plant 

 is generally found in grass lands, yards, waste places, and on dry 

 prairies, and grows from six to twelve inches high. The leaves are 

 more grass-like than those of the common plantain and on the cylin- 

 drical spikes are many sharp-pointed bracts from which it gets its 

 name, bracted plantain. It flowers from May to September and seeds 

 from June to October. The only method of propagation is by seeds 

 which are found in commercial samples of alfalfa and redtop, and to 

 some extent in red clover and timothy. 



Eradication. — Sow only grass seed that is free from the seeds of 

 weeds. Prevent plants from going to seed by pulling or removing 

 with a knife. Keep the grass lands fully occupied with grass crops 

 and the lawns richly fertilized. 



Gumweed (Grind el ia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal.) 



Other common names. — Rosin weed, scaly grindelia, gum plant, 

 and tar weed. 



Description. — Gumweed is generally a perennial altho it is some- 

 times a biennial. It is one of the composite group, flowering from 

 June to September and seeding late in the fall. Gumweed is generally 

 found in grain fields, waste places, along roadsides, and in clover and 

 alfalfa fields. It grows from three to four and a half feet high, and 

 is propagated only by seeds, which are blown about easily by the wind. 

 The large terminal flowers are about an inch in diameter and bright 

 yellow in color. The heads are very sticky. The whitish seeds are 

 commonly found in commercial samples of alfalfa and sweet clover, 

 and sometimes in redtop and alsike clover. 



