Imperial Valley press., 1926-04-29
DESCRIPTION OF
PUNCTURE VINES:
REMEDY URGED
Ell CentrO Resident Tells
Distinguishing Marks
of Pest.

What do YOU know about the
puurture vine Mrs. W. W. Dixon
writes the Press the following de
scrjptivc article concerning this pest
and suggests a way OF controlling its
growth:
3 Have on noticed those rather at
trartiTc trailing plants which ap-
I pear along bare Farkwa- :, 1T the
edge of lawns, or ON bare vacant
lots, usually not making much show
iug until after the summer rains.
but tlourjShing bravch amid the sur
rounding desert of the Vncaut lot
during late summer and early fail,
until the coming of cool weather, he
delicate green of its foathbN lr2v
and the palc yellow or its small. but
effective flowers, arr seen no more
until next season? Attractive did
. say! Well you ask Johnnie. He
/ knows.
. Mothcr," said my Jotn. who
: had been sent to collect specimens
from the vacant lot opposite our
! home. II didn't know pun tue
weeds were so bad. And Just took
at them, they look Just rs wicked as
t Y are. doH + they.
And barefoot Johnnie has very
good cause for seeing something sim
iStcr inethr beauty Of this innocent
+ locking little creeping plant. Lift
Il branch OF one Of the larger plants
iand pass your hand. very carefully,
lover the ground beneath. Needles,
literally hundreds of them covering
tic ground beneath each plant.
Needles set in pairs, two in each
woody seed capsule set in such IA
: manner that one OF the pair is al
iWayS upright and ready to ATTACH
itself to tie foot of dog or cae or
: barefoot boy. or bury itself in
rubheI tire, thus scattering the seeds
a> cftcctiNcly-as If they were blown
by the wind like the seeds of the
thistle.
/ When green the seeds cling to.
! gcthcr ou TIE vine. forming little
barrs which set wherever the pro-
/ fuse flowers drop. When mature
these bHrr> Shatter easily, each di-
Nidiug into sections and dropping
II the ground, 50 that the least dis
turbance of the grown plant leaves
a carpet OF seeds on the ground, each
seed with It's skyward pointing
needle ready for whatever comes
that WY.
| have been TRYING to eradicate
hi, plant from our home place for
Tie past three or four years, ever
since | found the true nature of
thc plant which | at first admired,
but have been greatly Handicapped
heretofore because OF the. fact that
the seeds gcrminatc in August
Whilc ! am away from home. BY
the time we return from our vaca-
ton the seeds are :lreadv scattered
and il is hopeless to try to collect
them alb The tacr s1riHo rains of
this wear have started the growth
early and the roadsidcs
land Vacant lots i'm our part of the
city are already green with the
Young plants. | tayc not yet dis
covered plants with mature seed
pods this year and most Of the
plants, except whore irrigat ion has
reached tlcm, nave not yet bios
somcd nor set seed pods. believe
that a great dead could be accom-
plishcd toward the control Of this
pest if the parkinga and vacant lots
IN the city were cleaned up within
the next two weeks. 4 great per
ccntagc Of the seeds from last years
plants have gcrminatcd and could
be killed by hociug or >craping the
ground. If we wait until the seed
pods set we will accomplish nothing
by disturbing the vines, but will
have to use other and much more
expensive methods of eradication.
Property owners of the city should
At least become acquainted with the
pest and bc on the lookout SO that
it viii not become established in
ward and gardcn.-Mrs. ". W. Dix
on.