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    Weeds
    Weeds
    Weeds
    Ebook243 pages1 hour

    Weeds

    By Alexander C. Martin and Jean Zallinger

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    This eBook is best viewed on a color device.

    This handy identification guide to the plants that cause billions of dollars annually in crop loss and control measures include information on:

    -The harm that weeds cause
    -Benefits from weeds
    -Major weed habitats

    Accurate full-color illustrations and descriptive text identify the principal weeds and weed groups that invade lawns, gardens, fields. and roadsides. Range maps show distribution within the United States.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateFeb 25, 2014
    ISBN9781466864900
    Weeds
    Author

    Alexander C. Martin

    Alexander C. Martin contributed to nature guides from Golden Guides and St. Martin's Press.

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    Reviews for Weeds

    4.5/5

    21 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5

      Nov 16, 2024

      Thank You This Is Very Good, Maybe This Can Help You
      Download Full Ebook Very Detail Here :
      https://amzn.to/3XOf46C
      - You Can See Full Book/ebook Offline Any Time
      - You Can Read All Important Knowledge Here
      - You Can Become A Master In Your Business
    • 4/5

      Dec 27, 2022

       One of several pocket-sized Golden Guides that lined my shelves back in the day. This is probably the book where I realized that I was interested in viewing things and learning about them, more than learning how to identified specific ones. I mean that learning the names of things is not the point, but enjoying them is.
    • 4/5

      Sep 18, 2022

      Originally published in 1972. This is a great little field guide (6"x 4") to carry around to help identify some weeds. There's plenty of colorful drawings for each plant (full plant, leaves, berries or flowers, stems, roots) to help in identification and basic information about each weed. I love it, as a lot of the weeds in the book grow right here on my 10 acres. I have found at least 20 of them. These weeds are actually not just for our area here in Southeast Texas. They are grown throughout the U.S. A map is provided to show where they can be found. The only problem with this book is that there just aren't enough wild weeds listed. It's such a tiny book. I feel like there's plenty of room to keep on adding to this little book.

    Book preview

    Weeds - Alexander C. Martin

    WHAT ARE WEEDS?

    Most of the plants called weeds look weedy. They are generally unglamorous in appearance because of their tiny flowers and unattractive foliage. A few, such as Morning-glories and Blackeyed-Susans, do have showy blossoms.

    The usual definition of a weed as a plant out of place reflects human bias. Actually, pest plants are out of place only in terms of man’s purposes. In nature’s scheme, they often serve useful functions, and judging by their success in wide-open competition with other plants, they are anything but out of place.

    An important factor contributing to the widespread abundance of weeds is their adaptability to diverse and adverse circumstances. Horseweeds that sometimes grow ten feet tall in favorable environment can also succeed in hard, dry soil, where plants only a few inches high may produce a crop of seeds. Other weed species can thrive even in crevices of concrete. What a contrast to our pampered cultivated plants!

    Another secret of the success of weeds is their effective means of reproduction. Many of them bear tremendous quantities of seeds. Some species of Pigweed commonly yield 100,000 or more seeds per plant. Furthermore, some weeds have remarkable devices for assuring widespread dispersal of their seeds. They either float in the slightest breeze by means of tiny, feathery parachutes or attach to clothing, fur, or wool by hooks, burs, or cleavers. Seeds of still others can remain dormant for many years until favorable conditions return.

    In addition, some species can multiply by vegetative means as well as by seeds. Purslane, common in gardens and lawns, not only produces many seeds but also can start new plants readily from broken-off bits of stems that have dried for a week or two. Bermuda Grass rootstocks that have been cut off and dried can still regenerate. Chopping up the plant often simply multiplies it.

    Weed seeds are remarkably adapted to assure widespread seed dispersal. Examples of special devices are shown below.

    Star-thistle

    Cocklebur

    Wild Carrot

    Pitchfork

    Dandelion

    THE HARM WEEDS CAUSE

    Weeds cost the American farmer an estimated 5 billion dollars annually. This considers both the loss in crop yield and the expense of control measures. As consumers of agricultural products, all of us share in the paying of this huge bill.

    Though this loss is tremendous, it represents only a fraction of the total harm done by pest plants. Not included in this bill, for example, is the staggering amount of time, effort, and money spent in controlling lawn and garden weeds. Nor does the agricultural loss account for the discomfort, lost time, and expense experienced by millions who suffer from hay fever and other respiratory ailments, either caused or aggravated by weed pollens. Other costs that should be added include the injury or poisoning of people and livestock by thorny or toxic weeds and the unsightliness and fire hazard created by weeds along roadsides or in vacant lots. In addition, aquatic weeds choke waterways, interfere with navigation, conflict with fish, wildlife, and recreational interests, and impede malaria control. The annual cost of controlling these aquatic nuisances alone runs into the millions of dollars.

    A typical operation for spraying weed killers

    Dredging to remove water hyacinths that clog

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