Native. Annual. Propagates by seeds. Time of bloom: July to September. Seed-time: Late August to November. Range: Nova Scotia to British Columbia, southward to Florida and

Mexico. Habitat: Sandy soil; fields and waste places.

Culms stout, erect, or with decumbent base, branched and spreading, one to two feet in height. Sheaths very hairy, the blades somewhat less so, the latter a quarter-inch to nearly an inch wide and six inches to a foot long. Panicles very large and spreading, the terminal one often more than a foot long, the branchlets hair-like, the spikelets very small, containing one tiny, shining grayish brown seed. When mature, the branches become very stiff and brittle and the large panicles break away and are driven before the winds for long distances, often piling in thick windrows against fences. In these journeys the seed-bearing, hair-like but brittle branchlets are broken from the stalks and the ground over which the tumblers roll is well seeded. In good sod the seed seldom "catches," but on stubbles and cultivated ground the plant is a troublesome weed.

(Fig. 6.)

Means Of Control

Prevent seed production by mowing, hoe-cutting or hand-pulling while in bloom or before.

Fig. 6. - Old Witch Grass (Pan-icum capillare). X 1/4.