Native. Annual. Propagates by seeds. Time of bloom: June to September. Seed-time: July to November. Range: Southern Wisconsin and Minnesota to Colorado, southward to Texas and

Florida. Habitat: Dry, sandy soil; cultivated crops, fields, waste places.

An unpleasant, woolly-hairy plant, closely related to the Rough Pigweed and nearly as troublesome, intruding in all sorts of crops and, by its long flowering season, compelling late tillage.

Stem rather slender, erect, one to three feet tall, with a few ascending branches near the base, or often simple, leafless near the top. Leaves opposite, rather thick, narrowly lance-shaped, sessile, or the lowermost ones somewhat spatulate and tapering to margined petioles, entire, downy on the under side. Flowers very small, perfect, three-bracted, on densely crowded spikes disposed oppositely in branching panicles; calyx densely woolly, tubular, five-toothed at the apex, and has irregular toothed wings along its sides; the single seed inside is also enclosed within the tube formed by the united filaments of the five stamens. These woolly and crested seed envelopes are very light and blow easily before the wind. (Fig. 80.)

Fig. 80. - Froelichia (Froelichia floridana).

Means Of Control

After the use of the horse-hoe is impracticable, continue the tillage of infested crops in order to prevent the distribution of late-maturing seeds. Plants on waste ground should be repeatedly cut in order to prevent contamination of adjacent land.