What Is In My Garden?

Samuels Community Garden Rules 1. First and foremost, this is our community garden, each gardener is responsible for conducting him/herself in a civil manner that is mutually beneficial to all participants and to the garden as a whole. Samuels Garden reserves the right to revoke your plot, at any time, due to any unacceptable conduct, as determined by DUG. 2. A minimum of 10 hours of community work per gardener is required (Does NOT include work on your own plot). If you are not available for the scheduled work days, please see the garden leader for alternative ways to contribute your time. If you do not complete the yearly 10-hour minimum, your plot may be reassigned.

3. Plots must be visibly worked by June 1st and cleaned up by November 1st. If your plot is not visibly worked or cleaned up by these dates, you will be notified and your plot may be reassigned.

4. This is an ORGANIC garden. The use of non-organic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or other non-organic chemicals is prohibited. Only organic-based fertilizers and "aged" manure are allowed.

5. Paths surrounding your plot must be maintained and clear of tools, hoses, plants and other materials at all times. Please be careful when digging in your plot, do not spill dirt onto the pathways. Any materials stored at your plot must be kept within your plot and kept tidy. As part of your plot maintenance, ALL GARDENERS are responsible for weeding the paths surrounding their plot. Please do this early and often, before weeds flower and produce seeds. Weeds in one plot have a habit of quickly spreading to other plots. Weeds can still flourish under loose mulches and mint can also spread quickly and get out of control.

6. If produce is not being picked or used from your plot, the garden leader may provide notice to you requesting permission to harvest and donate the proceeds. If notice is provided, and you cannot be reached within 3 days, your plot may be harvested.

7. If for any reason you are taking a brief absence (vacation, business trip, etc.), please make arrangements with someone to water and maintain your plot. If you determine that you will be unable to properly maintain your plot for a longer period of time, please contact the garden leader so your garden can be reassigned to someone on the wait list. If a plot appears neglected/abandoned (unwatered and/or overrun with weeds), you will be given 10 days notice to maintain your plot. After this time your plot will be reassigned.

8. You must remain on the premises while watering. Properly hang the hose each time you finish watering.

Water conservation techniques are encouraged, so please water your plot before 9am or after 6pm.

9. Clean and return all garden tools and equipment to the shed/tool bin when you're finished using them.

10. Do not take ANYTHING from another plot without permission from that person.

11. Permanent plot structures must be approved by DUG prior to installation.

12. Trees, bushes and other deep rooted plants are not allowed in plots.

13. Other than at the Samuels and/or DUG sales events, selling your own produce is prohibited.

14. Children must be supervised at ALL times and not allowed in other people’s plots.

15. Pets are NOT allowed in our garden or on school grounds due to sanitary and safety reasons.

16. Smoking is NOT allowed in our garden or on school grounds.

17. The last person out must be sure the shed and greenhouse are locked and ALL gates are closed.

- Thank You and Welcome to Our Garden -

Reglas de Samuels Community Garden 1. Primero que nada, este es una huerta comunitaria. Cada jardinero es responsable de conducirse de una manera civil y mutuamente beneficiosa para con todos los participantes en el jardín en general. La conducta inaceptable generalmente incluye, pero no se limita a, robo de vegetales, robo de herramientas, malas palabras, comportamiento ofensivo, comunicaciones verbales o escritas perjudiciales hacia o referentes a jardineros compañeros u otras incivilidades asociadas con las interacciones personales. Samuels Garden se reserva el derecho de revocar su parcela, en cualquier momento, debido a cualquier conducta inaceptable, según lo determine Denver Urban Gardens a su discreción.

2. Este es un jardín TOTALMENTE ORGÁNICO. El uso de fertilizantes no orgánicos, pesticidas, herbicidas u otros productos químicos no orgánicos está prohibido. Se fomenta el uso de fertilizantes de base orgánica.

Sólo se permite estiércol "envejecido".

3. Se requiere un mínimo de 10 horas de trabajo comunitario por jardinero. (Esto NO incluye el trabajo en su propia parcela). Si no se completa el mínimo de 10 horas, no se le podrá invitar al año siguiente. Si no tiene la capacidad física para trabajar, consulte al líder del jardín para conocer otras formas alternativas de contribuir.

(Los días de trabajo mensuales programados en el jardín también son una excelente forma de conocer a tus compañeros jardineros).

4. Las parcelas deben trabajarse visiblemente antes del 1 de junio y limpiarse antes del 1 de noviembre. Si los trabajos en su parcela no está comenzados a más tardar el 1 de junio, se le notificará y su parcela podrá ser reasignada. Esto también se aplica si su parcela no se limpia antes del 1 de noviembre.

5. Si por alguna razón descubre que no puede cuidar de su parcela, debe notificar al líder del jardín y hacer arreglos con otros jardineros para que puedan regar y mantener su parcela durante su breve ausencia. Si determina que no podrá mantener adecuadamente su parcela por un período de tiempo más largo, comuníquese con el líder del jardín para que su jardín pueda ser re-asignado a alguien en la lista de espera.

Si una parcela aparece desatendida o abandonada (sin agua o invadida por maleza), se le dará un aviso de diez días para mantener su parcela. Después de este tiempo su parcela será reasignada. (Sin reembolso).

6. Si los productos o frutos no se recogen o usan de su parcela, el líder del jardín puede notificarle y solicitarle permiso para cosechar y donar las productos. Si se le proporciona un aviso y no se lo puede contactar en un plazo de 3 días, su parcela será recolectada. Como alternativa, notifique al líder del jardín cuál de sus productos puede ser donado. (Además, únase a nosotros los lunes por la noche para nuestras picnics semanales a partir de las 5:30 hasta el anochecer durante el verano, desde el Día de los Caídos hasta el Día del Trabajo, a menos que se indique lo contrario. ¡todos son bienvenidos!)

7. Los caminos que rodean su parcela deben mantenerse y despejarse. Por razones de seguridad, mantenga todos los caminos alrededor de su parcela libres de herramientas, mangueras, plantas y otros materiales en todo momento. Tenga cuidado al excavar en su parcela para no derramar la tierra en las vías. Cualquier material almacenado en su parcela debe mantenerse dentro de su parcela y mantenerse ordenado. Como parte del mantenimiento de su parcela, TODOS LOS JARDINEROS son responsables de mantener los caminos que rodean su parcela libres de vegetacion. Tambien las parcelas escolares asignadas. Por favor haga esto con frecuencia, antes de que las malezas florezcan y produzcan semillas. Las malezas en una parcela tienen el hábito de extenderse rápidamente a otras parcelas. (Recuerde, algunas malezas todavía pueden vivir bajo ciertas coberturas sueltas, así que verifique eso también) 8. Debe permanecer en el local mientras riega. Cuelgue correctamente la manguera cada vez que termine de regar. Por favor sea considerado con el uso del agua. Las técnicas de conservación de agua son altamente recomendables.

9. Los niños deben ser supervisados en todo momento y no se deben permitir en las parcelas de otras personas.

10. No se permiten mascotas (que no sean perros de servicio) en el jardín o en el recinto escolar debido a razones sanitarias y de seguridad.

11. Limpie y devuelva todas las herramientas y equipos del jardín al cobertizo o a la caja de herramientas cuando termine de usarlos.

12. NO se permite fumar en el jardín ni en los terrenos de la escuela.

13. No tome nada de otra parcela sin el permiso de esa persona.

14. Por razones de seguridad, la última persona en salir debe asegurarse de que el cobertizo y el invernadero estén cerrados con llave y todos los portones estén cerrados.

15. Aparte de los eventos de mercados de Samuels o de DUG, está prohibido vender sus propios productos.

16. Usted es responsable de su propia seguridad y la seguridad de todas las personas que lleve al jardín.

-Gracias y feliz jardinería-

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING Square Foot Gardening is the practice of dividing the growing area into small square sections (typically 12" on a side, hence the name). The aim is to assist the planning and creating of a small but intensively planted vegetable garden. It results in a simple and orderly gardening system, from which it draws much of its appeal.

Mel Bartholomew coined the term "square foot gardening" in his 1981 book of the same name.

A basic, 4x4, 16-unit "square-foot garden."

The phrase "square foot gardening" was popularized by Mel Bartholomew in a 1981 Rodale Press book and subsequent PBS television series. Bartholomew used a 12’ by 12’ square with a grid that divided it into 9 squares with equal lengths of 4 feet on each side. Each of these 4’ by 4’ squares was then invisibly divided into sixteen one foot squares that were each planted with a different species. In smaller square gardens the grids may simply serve as a way to divide the garden but in larger gardens the grids can be made wide enough to be used as narrow walkways. Bartholomew recommends careful spacing of seeds rather than planting the entire seed packet so that fewer but stronger plants will grow.

To encourage a variety of different crops over time, each square would be used for a different kind of plant, the number of plants per square depending on an individual plant's size. For example, a single tomato plant might take a full square, as might herbs such as oregano, basil or mint, while most strawberry plants could be planted four per square, and up to sixteen per square of plants such as radish. Tall or climbing plants such as maize or pole beans might be planted in a northern row (south in the southern hemisphere) so as not to shade other plants, and supported with lattice or netting.

One advantage of densely planted crops is that they can form a living mulch, and also prevent weeds from establishing or even germinating. Also, natural insect repellent methods such as companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become more efficient in a close space, which may reduce the need to use pesticides. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.

Since the beds are typically small, making covers or cages to protect plants from pests, cold, or sun is more practical than with larger gardens. To extend the growing season of a square foot garden, a cold/hot frame may be built around the SFG, and by facing the cold/hot frame south, the SFG captures more light and heat during the colder months of spring and winter.

In 2006, Bartholemew updated the concept with the book "All New Square Foot Gardening", which advocates growing in raised beds instead of the ground. The rationale is that by using a premixed blend of peat moss, vermiculite, and compost instead of dirt, one will enjoy the benefits of having perfect soil conditions from day one, instead of needing to undertake a period of soil improvement.

COMPANION PLANTING Companion Planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial creatures, maximizing use of space, and to otherwise increase crop productivity. Companion planting is a form of polyculture.

Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries for many reasons. Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in cottage gardens in England and forest gardens in Asia, and thousands of years ago in Mesoamerica.

In China, mosquito ferns have been used for at least a thousand years as companion plants for rice crops.

They host a cyanobacterium that fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere, and they block light from plants that would compete with the rice.

Companion planting was practiced in various forms by the indigenous peoples of the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans. These peoples domesticated squash 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, then maize, then common beans, forming the Three Sisters agricultural technique. The cornstalk served as a trellis for the beans to climb, and the beans fixed nitrogen, benefitting the maize.

Companion planting was widely promoted in the 1970s as part of the organic gardening movement. It was encouraged for pragmatic reasons, such as natural trellising, but mainly with the idea that different species of plant may thrive more when close together. It is also a technique frequently used in permaculture, together with mulching, polyculture, and changing of crops.

Nasturtium is a food plant of some caterpillars which feed primarily on members of the cabbage family (brassicas), and some gardeners claim that planting them around brassicas protects the food crops from damage, as eggs of the pests are preferentially laid on the nasturtium. This practice is called trap cropping (using alternative plants to attract pests away from a main crop). However, while many trap crops have successfully diverted pests off of focal crops in small scale greenhouse, garden and field experiments, only a small portion of these plants have been shown to reduce pest damage at larger commercial scales.

The smell of the foliage of marigolds is claimed to deter aphids from feeding on neighboring crops. Marigolds with simple flowers also attract nectar-feeding adult hoverflies, the larvae of which are predators of aphids.

Various legume crops benefit from being commingled with a grassy nurse crop. For example, common vetch or hairy vetch is planted together with rye or winter wheat to make a good cover crop or green manure (or both).

The terms "undersowing" and "overseeding" both involve intercropping as a type of companion planting.

"Undersowing" conveys the idea of sowing the second crop among the young plants of the first crop (or in between the rows, if rows are used). A connotation of understory growth is conveyed, albeit exaggerated (because the first crop is not yet a dense canopy). "Overseeding" conveys the idea of broadcasting the seeds of the second crop over the existing first crop. This is analogous to overseeding a lawn to improve the mix of grasses present.

There are a number of systems and ideas using companion planting. Square foot gardening attempts to protect plants from many normal gardening problems by packing them as closely together as possible, which is facilitated by using companion plants, which can be closer together than normal. Another system using companion planting is the forest garden, where companion plants are intermingled to create an actual ecosystem, emulating the interaction of up to seven levels of plants in a forest or woodland. Organic gardening may make use of companion planting, since many synthetic means of fertilizing, weed reduction, and pest control are forbidden.

Vegetable/Herb Anise Asparagus (P) Basil Beans

Likes Dislikes Coriander Basil, rue Tomato, parsley, basil Tomato, sweet peppers Rue, anise Beets, carrots, Onion, garlic, cauliflower, celeriac, gladiolus, fennel celery, corn, cucumber, marigolds, potatoes, strawberry, summer savory Beets Onion, kohlrabi, bush Pole beans, beans, lettuce, mustards cabbage family Borage Strawberry, fruit trees Cabbage Family (broccoli, Aromatic herbs, Strawberry, tomato, kale, cauliflower, collards, hyssop, thyme, beans, mustards, cabbages etc.) wormwood, potatoes, pole beans celery, dill, chamomile, beets, onion, sage, peppermint, rosemary, oregano Calendula (P) Garden tonic, nutrient accumulator, chard, radish, carrots, tomatoes, thyme, parsley Carrots Peas, lettuce, chives, Dill onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, tomato, wormwood, parsley Celeriac Scarlet runner beans Celery Leek, tomato, bush beans, cauliflower, cabbage Chard Roots crops, lettuce, radish, celery, mint

Chayote (Sechium edule) Cucumbers, Pumpkin, celery, mint, or snap peppers, squash, corn beans Chives (P) Carrots, apple orchards Peas, beans

Vegetable/Herb Collards Comfrey (P) Coriander/Cilantro Corn

Cucumbers

Eggplant Fennel Garlic Horseradish (P)

Likes Tomatoes Nutrient accumulator/mulch Anise, carrots, radish, chard Potato, peas, beans, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash, melons, marigolds, sunflowers, sunchokes Beans, corn, peas, radish, sunflowers, okra Beans, okra Most annuals DO NOT like it Drip line of fruit trees, roses, tomatoes Fruit trees, potatoes

Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes) (P)

Corn

Lavender (P)

Broccoli and cabbage family

Leek Lettuce

Onions, celery, carrots Carrots, radish, strawberry, cucumber Corn, sunflowers, morning glory, okra

Melon

Dislikes

Fennel

Potato, aromatic herbs

Coriander, wormwood Peas and beans

Celery, cabbage, cress, parsley Potatoes

Vegetable/Herb Mint (P) Nettle Okra

Onion and garlic

Parsley Peas

Peppers –sweet Potato

Pumpkin Radish

Rhubarb (P) Rue (P) Sage (P) Savory –both (P) Spinach Squash Strawberries (P)

Likes Cabbage, tomatoes, nettles Increases oil content of most herbs Melons, cucumbers, sweet peppers, eggplant

Dislikes Chamomile

Beets, strawberry, Peas, beans tomato, lettuce, summer savory, chamomile, roses Tomato, asparagus, roses, carrots Carrots, turnips, radish, Onions, garlic, cucumber, corn, beans, gladiolus potatoes, aromatic herbs Basil, okra Beans, corn, cabbage, Pumpkin, squash, horseradish, marigold, cucumber, sunflower, eggplant tomato, raspberry Datura, corn, pole Potato beans, Peas, nasturtium, Potato, hyssop lettuce, cucumber, beets, spinach, carrots, squash, melons, tomatoes, beans Columbines Roses, raspberries, fig Basil trees Rosemary, cabbages, Cucumbers carrots, Onions, beans Cucumbers Strawberries, other greens Nasturtium, corn, clover Beans, spinach, Cabbage borage, lettuce

Vegetable/Herb Sunflower Sweet potato Tomato

Turnip

Likes Cucumber White Hellebore Chives, onion, parsley, asparagus, marigold, nasturtium, carrot, garlic, roses, bee balm Peas, vetch

Valerian (P)

Calendula, echinacea

Sweet woodruff (P)

Orchards

Watermelon Fruit trees (P)

Dislikes Potato Kohlrabi, potato, fennel, cabbage, corn

Potatoes mulched with *generally melons do straw* not like potatoes Chives, garlic, carrots, Bare soil bulbs, borage, strawberries, nasturtiums, comfrey, plantain, columbine, daylilies

AMERICAN CROW

American Crow (Corvus Brachyrhynchos) is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America.

The American Crow is a distinctive bird with iridescent black feathers all over. Its legs, feet and bill are also black. The bill length can be from 1.2 to 2.2 inches, varying strongly according to location. In flight, the tail is rounded or squared off at the end. They measure 16 to 21 inches in length, of which the tail makes up about 40%. The wingspan ranges from 33 to 39 inches. Males tend to be larger than females.

The most usual call is a loud, short, and rapid caaw-caaw-caaw. Usually, the birds thrust their heads up and down as they utter this call. American Crows can also produce a wide variety of sounds and sometimes mimic noises made by other animals, including other birds.

The American Crow is omnivorous. It will feed on invertebrates of all types, carrion, scraps of human food, seeds, eggs and nestlings, stranded fish on the shore and various grains. They are active hunters and will prey on mice, frogs, and other small animals. In winter and autumn, the diet of American crows is more dependent on nuts and acorns. Occasionally, they will visit bird feeders. The American Crow is one of only a few species of bird that has been observed modifying and using tools to obtain food. Like most crows, they will scavenge at landfills, scattering garbage in the process. Where available, corn, wheat and other crops are a favorite food.

American Crows build bulky stick nests, nearly always in trees but sometimes also in large bushes and, very rarely, on the ground. They will nest in a wide variety of trees, including large conifers, although oaks are most often used.

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

American Goldfinch (Spinus Tristis), also known as Eastern Goldfinch or Lightning Bird, is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season and from just south of the Canadian border to Mexico during the winter.

Once the spring molt is complete, the body of the male is a brilliant lemon yellow, a color produced by carotenoid pigments from plant materials in its diet, with a striking jet black cap and white rump that is visible during flight. The female is mostly brown, lighter on the underside with a yellow bib. After the autumn molt, the bright summer feathers are replaced by duller plumage, becoming buff below and olive-brown above, with a pale yellow face and bib. The autumn plumage is almost identical in both sexes, but the male has yellow shoulder patches. In some winter ranges, the Goldfinches lose all traces of yellow, becoming a predominantly medium tan-gray color with an olive tinge evident only on close viewing.

The song of the American Goldfinch is a series of musical warbles and twitters, often with a long note. A tseetsi-tsi-tsit call is often given in flight; it may also be described as per-chic-o-ree.

The American Goldfinch is one of the strictest vegetarians in the bird world. It is mainly granivorous, but will occasionally eat insects, which are also fed to its young to provide protein. Its diet consists of the seeds from a wide variety of annual plants, often those of weeds, grasses and trees. However, it also consumes tree buds, maple sap, and berries. It will eat at a bird feeder, particularly in the winter months, preferring nyjer seed.

The nest is built in late summer by the female in the branches of a deciduous shrub or tree. The nest is built of bark, weeds, vines, and grass and is lined with plant down from milkweed, thistle, or cattail.

The American Goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa, New Jersey, and Washington.

AMERICAN ROBIN

American Robin (Turdus Migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European Robin belonging to the Old World Flycatcher family. The American Robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific Coast.

The head varies from jet black to gray, with white eye arcs. The throat is white with black streaks, and the belly and undertail coverts are white. The Robin has a brown back and a reddish-orange breast. The bill is mainly yellow with a variably dark tip and the legs and feet are brown. The sexes are similar, but the female tends to be duller than the male, with a brown tint to the head, brown upperparts and less bright underparts.

It is among the first birds to sing at dawn, and its song consists of several discrete units that are repeated. In addition to its song, the American Robin has a number of calls used for communicating specific information.

The American Robin's diet generally consists of around 40 percent small invertebrates (mainly insects), such as earthworms, beetle grubs, caterpillars and grasshoppers, and 60 percent wild and cultivated fruits and berries. Their ability to switch to berries allows them to winter much farther north than most other North American thrushes.

The nest is most commonly located above the ground in a dense bush or in a fork between two tree branches, and is built by the female alone. The outer foundation consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers.

This is lined with smeared mud and cushioned with fine grass or other soft materials.

It is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE

Black-Billed Magpie (Pica Hudsonia) is a bird in the crow family that inhabits the western half of North America, from southern coastal Alaska to northern California, northern Nevada, northern Arizona, northern New Mexico, central Kansas, and Nebraska.

It is black and white, with black areas on the wings and tail showing iridescent hints of blue or blue-green. It is one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the total body length.

The most common calls of this bird are a nasal inquisitive "mag mag mag" or "yak yak yak" uttered in a much higher pitch than that of the European Magpies. Many other calls also exist such as begging calls by females to their mate, by young to their parents, idle songbird chatter, and distress calls when seized by predators.

The Black-Billed Magpie is an opportunistic omnivore, eating many types of insects, carrion, seeds, rodents, berries, nuts, eggs, and also garbage and food from pets that are fed outside. Chicks are fed animal matter almost exclusively. Magpies typically forage on the ground, usually walking, sometimes hopping, and sometimes scratching with their feet to turn over ground litter. They sometimes land on large mammals, such as moose or cattle, to pick at the ticks that often plague these animals. They often follow large predators, such as wolves, to scavenge or steal from their kills.

Black-Billed Magpies nest individually, frequently toward the top of deciduous or evergreen trees. Nests are built by both sexes. Nests are loose but large accumulations of branches, twigs, mud, grass, rootlets, bark strips, vines, needles, and other materials, with branches and twigs constituting the base and framework. The nest cup is lined with fine rootlets, grass, and other soft material. Nests almost always include a hood or dome of loosely assembled twigs and branches, and usually have one or more side entrances.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE

Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile Atricapillus) is a small, non-migratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is well known for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights as well as its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans.

The Black-Capped Chickadee has a black cap and "bib" with white sides to the face. Its underparts are white with rusty brown on the flanks. Its back is gray and the tail is normally slate-gray. This bird has a short dark bill, short rounded wings and a long tail. Sexes look alike, but males are slightly larger and longer than females.

The vocalizations of the Black-Capped Chickadee are highly complex. Thirteen distinct types of vocalizations have been classified, many of which are complex and can communicate different types of information.

Insects (especially caterpillars) form a large part of their diet in summer. Seeds and berries become more important in winter. Black oil sunflower seeds are readily taken from bird feeders. The birds take a seed in their bill and commonly fly from the feeder to a tree, where they proceed to hammer the seed on a branch to open it.

The Black-Capped Chickadee nests in a hole in a tree above ground. The pair either excavates the hole together, or uses a natural cavity, or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. This species will also nest in a nesting box. The nesting season is from late April through June. The nest is built by the female only. It consists of a base of coarse material such as moss or bark strips, and lining of finer material such as mammal hair.

It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts.

BLUE JAY

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta Cristata) is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to North America. It occurs from southern Canada through the eastern and central United States south to Florida and northeastern Texas.

The western edge of the range stops where the arid pine forest and scrub habitat begins. The bird's name derives from its noisy, garrulous nature. It is sometimes called a "jaybird".

There is a pronounced crest on the head, a crown of feathers, which may be raised or lowered according to the bird's mood. Its plumage is lavender-blue to mid-blue in the crest, back, wings, and tail, and its face is white.

The underside is off-white and the neck is collared with black which extends to the sides of the head. The wing primaries and tail are strongly barred with black, sky-blue and white. The bill, legs, and eyes are all black.

Plumage does not vary throughout the year. Sexes are almost identical, but the male is slightly larger.

Blue Jays can make a large variety of sounds. They can also copy the cries of local hawks. Their voice is typical of most jays in being varied, but the most commonly recognized sound is the alarm call, which is a loud, almost gull-like scream. There is also a high-pitched jayer-jayer call that increases in speed as the bird becomes more agitated.

Blue Jays have strong black bills which they use for cracking nuts, usually while holding them with their feet, and for eating corn, grains and seeds. Its food is sought both on the ground and in trees and includes virtually all known types of plant and animal sources, such as acorns and beech mast, weed seeds, grain, fruits and other berries, peanuts, bread, meat, small invertebrates of many types, scraps in town parks, bird-table food.

The nest is cup-shaped and composed of twigs, small roots, bark strips, moss, other plant material, cloth, paper, and feathers, with occasional mud added to the cup. Both sexes participate in constructing a nest.

BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus Platycercus) is a medium-sized hummingbird, nearly 4 inches in length. It is one of seven species in the genus Selasphorus. The summer range extends across mountain forests and meadows throughout the Western United States, specifically the central Rocky Mountain region and southwards; the winter range is from the cordilleran mountain areas of northern Mexico as far south as Guatemala. At summer's end the northerly birds migrate and overwinter in the southern part of their range.

This species is somewhat vagrant, especially wintering birds, and is regularly seen in El Salvador where it does not breed.

Male and female both have iridescent green backs and crowns and a white breast. The male has a gorget (throat patch) that shines with a brilliant pink-red iridescence and a broad, predominantly black tail accented with varying amounts of green, rufous, and occasionally white. The female is much duller with pale rust-colored sides and outer tail feathers banded in rufous, green, black, and white.

In flight the male's wings produce a distinct trilling sound diagnostic for this species.

Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds consume the typical hummingbird diet of flower nectar and arthropods, which are taken in flight and gleaned from vegetation. Sap from trees and shrubs is used as a nectar substitute.

Nests are small cup of plant fibers woven together and bound to a branch with collected spider webs. The female lays two plain white eggs that she alone will incubate for 16 to 19 days. Young broad-tailed hummingbirds fledge about 23 days after hatching. This species is known to hybridize with other hummingbird species, including Black-Chinned, White-Eared, and Costa's.

CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD

Calliope Hummingbird (Selasphorus Calliope) is a very small hummingbird native to the United States and Canada and, during winter, Central America. This bird was named after the Greek muse Calliope. The former genus name means "little star".

This is the smallest breeding bird found in Canada and the United States. These birds have glossy green on the back and crown with white underparts. Their bill and tail are relatively short. The adult male has wine-red streaks on the throat, green flanks and a dark tail. Females and juveniles have a pinkish wash on the flanks, dark streaks on the throat and a dark tail with white tips.

These birds feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendable tongue, drink sap from holes created by sapsuckers or catch insects on the wing. While collecting nectar, they also assist in plant pollination. Plants preferred for pollinating include paintbrush, penstemon, columbine, trumpet gilia, and elephant head. They will also occasionally catch and eat small insects and spiders.

The breeding habitat of Calliope Hummingbird is varied among open shrub habitats and altitudes. Nesting usually occurs at higher altitudes in the Rocky Mountains. The female usually builds an open cup nest in a conifer tree under an overhanging branch, though apple and alder trees have also been used. The nest is often built on the base of large pine cones and somewhat resembles a pine cone itself. A nest may be used repeatedly over the course of several years.

They nest in western North America from southern British Columbia and Alberta south to Colorado and southern California. During autumn, they migrate through Arizona and New Mexico and northern Mexico, to winter in southwestern Mexico as well as in Guatemala and Belize.

DARK-EYED JUNCO

Dark-Eyed Junco (Junco Hyemalis) is a species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows.

This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much like the related fox sparrow.

Adults generally have gray heads, necks, and breasts, gray or brown backs and wings, and a white belly, but show a confusing amount of variation in plumage details. The white outer tail feathers flash distinctively in flight and while hopping on the ground. The bill is usually pale pinkish. Males tend to have darker, more conspicuous markings than the females.

The song is a trill similar to the chipping sparrow's song. Calls include tick sounds and very high-pitched tinkling chips. It is known among bird language practitioners as an excellent bird to study for learning "bird language."

These birds mainly eat insects and seeds and they forage while hopping on the ground. In winter, they often forage in flocks that may contain several subspecies. They will come to bird feeders, but tend to forage on the ground under the feeding tray.

Their breeding habitat is coniferous or mixed forest areas throughout North America. They usually nest in a cup-shaped depression on the ground, well hidden by vegetation or other material, although nests are sometimes found in the lower branches of a shrub or tree. The nests have an outer diameter of about 4 inches and are lined with fine grasses and hair. Normally two clutches of four eggs are laid during the breeding season. The slightly glossy eggs are grayish or pale bluish-white and heavily spotted or splotched with various shades of brown, purple or gray. The spotting is concentrated at the large end of the egg. The eggs are incubated by the female for 12 to 13 days. The young leave the nest between 11 and 14 days after hatching.

DOWNY WOODPECKER

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates Pubescens) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.

Downy woodpeckers are native to forested areas, mainly deciduous, of North America. Their range consists of most of the United States and Canada, except for the deserts of the southwest and the tundra of the north.

Mostly permanent residents, northern birds may migrate further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations.

The Downy Woodpecker is mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a black tail with white outer feathers barred with black. Adult males have a red patch on the back of the head whereas juvenile birds display a red cap; females do not display a red patch.

The Downy Woodpecker gives a number of vocalizations, including a short pik call. Like other woodpeckers, it also produces a drumming sound with its beak as it pecks into trees. Compared to other North American species its drums are slow.

Downy Woodpeckers forage on trees, picking the bark surface in summer and digging deeper in winter. They mainly eat insects, also seeds and berries. In winter, especially, Downy Woodpeckers can often be found in suburban backyards with trees and will feed on suet at birdfeeders.

Downy Woodpeckers nest in a tree cavity excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or limb. In the winter, they roost in tree cavities.

EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE

Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia Decaocto), most often simply called the Collared Dove, is a species of dove native to warm temperate and subtropical Asia, and introduced in North America in the1980s. The Collared Dove is not migratory, but is strongly dispersive. In the latter half of the 20th century, it has been one of the great colonizers of the bird world, travelling far beyond its native range to colonize colder countries and it can now be found from Southeast Asia through to Western Europe.

It is a medium-sized dove. It is grey-buff to pinkish-grey overall, a little darker above than below, with a bluegrey under wing patch. The tail feathers are grey-buff above, and dark grey tipped white below; the outer tail feathers also tipped whitish above. It has a black half-collar edged with white on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is red, but from a distance the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown iris can be seen around the black pupil. The eye is surrounded by a small area of bare skin, which is either white or yellow. The two sexes are virtually indistinguishable; juveniles differ in having a poorly developed collar, and a brown iris.

The song is a coo-COO-coo. The Collared Dove also makes a harsh loud screeching call lasting about two seconds, particularly in flight just before landing. A rough way to describe the screeching sound is a hah-hah.

The Collared Dove is not wary and often feeds very close to human habitation. Its main food source is grain as well as seeds, shoots and insects.

Collared Doves typically breed close to human habitation wherever food resources are abundant and there are trees for nesting; almost all nests are within a mile of inhabited buildings. The female lays two white eggs in a stick nest, which she incubates during the night and which the male incubates during the day. Incubation lasts between 14 and 18 days, with the young fledging after 15 to 19 days.

HOUSE FINCH

House Finch (Haemorhous Mexicanus) is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is native to western North America, and has been introduced to the eastern half of the continent and Hawaii. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus Haemorhous.

Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are.

In most cases, adult males' heads, necks and shoulders are reddish. This color sometimes extends to the belly and down the back, between the wings. Male coloration varies in intensity with the seasons and is derived from the berries and fruits in its diet. As a result, the colors range from pale straw-yellow through bright orange (both rare) to deep, intense red. Adult females have brown upperparts and streaked underparts.

Their song is a rapid, cheery warble or a variety of chirps.

House Finches forage on the ground or in vegetation normally. They primarily eat grains, seeds and berries, being voracious consumers of weed seeds such as nettle and dandelion; included are incidental small insects such as aphids. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders throughout the year, particularly if stocked with sunflower or nyjer seed, and will congregate at hanging nyjer sock feeders. The House Finch is known to damage orchard fruit and consume commercially grown grain but is generally not considered a significant pest but rather an annoyance.

The nest is built by the female and it is well made of twigs and debris, forming a cup shape. They are made in cavities, including openings in buildings, hanging plants, and other cup-shaped outdoor decorations. Nests may be re-used in following years and sometimes nests abandoned by other birds are used.

HOUSE SPARROW

House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus) is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia. Its introductions to parts of Australia, Africa, and the Americas, make it the most widely distributed wild bird. The House Sparrow is strongly associated with human habitations, and can live in urban or rural settings. Though found in widely varied habitats and climates, it typically avoids extensive woodlands, grasslands, and deserts away from human development.

It is a compact bird with a full chest and a large rounded head. Its bill is stout and conical, strongly built as an adaptation for eating seeds. The male has a dark grey crown from the top of its bill to its back, and chestnut brown flanking its crown on the sides of its head. It has black around its bill, on its throat, and on the spaces between its bill and eyes. The underparts are pale grey or white, as are the cheeks, ear coverts, and stripes at the base of the head. The female is a paler brown and has no black markings or grey crown.

Most House Sparrow vocalizations are variations on its short and incessant chirping call. Transcribed as chirrup, tschilp, or philip, this note is made as a contact call by flocking or resting birds.

It feeds mostly on the seeds of grains and weeds, but it is an opportunistic eater and commonly eats insects and many other foods.

The nest is usually domed, though it may lack a roof in enclosed sites. It has an outer layer of stems and roots, a middle layer of dead grass and leaves, and a lining of feathers, as well as of paper and other soft materials.

The building of the nest is initiated by the unmated male while displaying to females. The female assists in building, but is less active than the male.

MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE

Mountain Chickadee (Poecile Gambeli) is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The Mountain Chickadees are known colloquially as the cheeseburger birds, as their call sounds like they are saying "cheeseburger". They are also well known for their renowned forgetfulness. Common inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the western United States, their range extends from the southern Yukon to California and Rocky Mountain States in the United States.

Adults of both sexes have a black cap joining a black postocular stripe behind distinctive white eyebrows. Their backs and flanks are gray and they have paler gray underparts; they have a short black bill, and a black bib.

Their call is a throaty chick-adee-dee-dee, while their song is a 3- or 4-note descending whistle fee-beebay or fee-bee-fee-bee. They travel in pairs or small groups, and may join multi-species feeding flocks after breeding season. Recent studies have indicated that in mixed flocks, black-capped chickadees become dominant over Mountain Chickadees.

Their primary diet is insects during the summer and breeding season; conifer seeds and other plant seeds are taken throughout the year. They cling to the undersides of branches and to tree trunks, searching for food in the bark or breaking seeds open by hammering them with their beaks.

They nest in cavities but they can’t excavate them unless the wood is very soft. Instead, they rely on holes made by other birds such as small woodpeckers and nuthatches. They also nest in natural crevices, in nest boxes, and occasionally on the ground amid roots. Inside the cavity the female makes a neat cup from fur she gathers. She also makes a fur plug or cap that she uses to cover her eggs when she leaves the cavity. In some cases chickadees compensate for large cavities by filling them several inches deep with insulating material.

MOURNING DOVE

Mourning Dove (Zenaida Macroura) is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the Turtle Dove or Rain Dove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds. The wings make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, a form of sonation. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 55 mph.

The plumage is generally light gray-brown and lighter and pinkish below. The wings have black spotting, and the outer tail feathers are white, contrasting with the black inners. Below the eye is a distinctive crescentshaped area of dark feathers. The eyes are dark, with light skin surrounding them. The adult male has bright purple-pink patches on the neck sides, with light pink coloring reaching the breast. The crown of the adult male is a distinctly bluish-grey color. Females are similar in appearance, but with more brown coloring overall and a little smaller than the male. The iridescent feather patches on the neck above the shoulders are nearly absent, but can be quite vivid on males. Juvenile birds have a scaly appearance, and are generally darker.

This bird’s call is a distinctive, plaintive cooOOoo-woo-woo-woooo, uttered by males to attract females. Other sounds include a nest call (cooOOoo) by paired males to attract their mates, a greeting call (a soft ork) by males upon rejoining their mates, and an alarm call (a short roo-oo) by either male or female when threatened.

Mourning Doves eat almost exclusively seeds, which make up more than 99% of their diet. Rarely, they will eat snails or insects. They generally eat enough to fill their crops and then fly away to digest while resting.

The female dove builds the nest. The male will fly about, gather material, and bring it to her. The male will stand on the female's back and give the material to the female, who then builds it into the nest. The nest is constructed of twigs, conifer needles, or grass blades, and is of flimsy construction.

NORTHERN FLICKER

Northern Flicker (Colaptes Auratus) is a medium-sized member of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. There are over 100 common names for the Northern Flicker.

Adults are brown with black bars on the back and wings. A necklace-like black patch occupies the upper breast, while the lower breast and belly are beige with black spots. The tail is dark on top, transitioning to a white rump which is conspicuous in flight. Males can be identified by a black or red mustachio stripe at the base of the beak.

This bird's call is a sustained laugh, ki ki ki ki. One may also hear a constant knocking as they often drum on trees or even metal objects to declare territory. Like most woodpeckers, Northern Flickers drum on objects as a form of communication and territory defense. In such cases, the object is to make as loud a noise as possible, and that’s why woodpeckers sometimes drum on metal objects.

Flickers are the only woodpeckers that frequently feed on the ground. Although they eat fruits, berries, seeds and nuts, their primary food is insects. Ants alone can make up 45% of their diet. Other invertebrates eaten include flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and snails. Flickers also eat berries and seeds, especially in winter.

They are cavity nesters who typically nest in trees but they will also use posts and birdhouses if sized and situated appropriately. They prefer to excavate their own home although they will reuse and repair damaged or abandoned nests. The nest is built by both sexes of the mating pairs.

It is the state bird of Alabama where it is known by the name "yellowhammer".

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH

Red-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Canadensis) is a small songbird. It breeds in coniferous forests across Canada, Alaska and the northeastern and western United States. Though often a permanent resident, it regularly irrupts further south if its food supply fails. There are records of vagrants occurring as far south as the Gulf Coast and northern Mexico.

The Red-Breasted Nuthatch is a small passerine. Its back and upper tail are blue-grey, and its underparts rustcolored. It has a black cap and eye line and a white eyebrow. Sexes are similarly plumaged, though females and youngsters have duller heads and paler underparts.

The Red-Breasted Nuthatch's call is high-pitched, nasal and weak. Transcribed as yenk or ink, they have been likened to a toy tin horn or a child's noisemaker. Its song is a slowly repeated series of clear, nasal, rising notes, transcribed as eeen eeen eeen.

Like all Nuthatches, the Red-Breasted Nuthatch is an acrobatic species, hitching itself up and down tree trunks and branches to look for food. It goes headfirst when climbing down. It can "walk" on the underside of branches. Unlike woodpeckers and creepers, it does not use its tail as a prop while climbing. It tends to forage singly or in pairs. The Red-Breasted Nuthatch's diet changes depending on the season. In the summer, it eats mostly insects, occasionally even flycatching, while in the winter, it switches to conifer seeds. At feeders it will take sunflower seeds, peanut butter, and suet. It often wedges food pieces in bark crevices in order to break them up with the bill.

It excavates its nest in dead wood, often close to the ground, smearing the entrance with sap.

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius Phoeniceus) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae, found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States.

The common name for the Red-Winged Blackbird is taken from the mainly black adult male's distinctive red shoulder patches which are visible when the bird is flying or displaying. The female is blackish-brown and paler below. The female is smaller than the male. Young birds resemble the female, but are paler below and have buff feather fringes. Both sexes have a sharply pointed bill. The tail is of medium length and is rounded. The eyes, bill, and feet are all black.

The calls of the Red-Winged Blackbird are a throaty check and a high slurred whistle, terrr-eeee. The female also sings, typically a scolding chatter chit chit chit chit chit chit cheer teer teer teerr.

It feeds primarily on plant materials, including seeds from weeds and waste grain such as corn and rice, but about a quarter of its diet consists of insects and other small animals. These birds can be lured to backyard bird feeders by bread and seed mixtures and suet.

The Red-Winged Blackbird nests in loose colonies. The nest is built in cattails, rushes, grasses, sedge, or in alder or willow bushes. It is a basket of grasses, sedge, and mosses, lined with mud, and bound to surrounding grasses or branches. The nest is constructed entirely by the female and is located above water.

BLUE GRAMA GRASS

Blue Grama (Bouteloua Gracilis), also known as Eyelash Grass, is a long-lived, warm-season, C4 carbon fixation perennial grass, native to North America. It is a green or grayish, low-growing, very tough, grazing-, drought- and heat-resistant grass with limited maintenance.

The plant height at maturity ranges from 6–12 inches. The roots generally extend 12–18 inches from the edge of the plant, and 3–6 feet deep with a maximum rooting depth of around 7 feet. It is readily established from seed, but depends more on vegetative reproduction via tillers. Seed production is slow, and depends on soil moisture and temperature. Seeds dispersed by wind only reach 6 feet; farther distances are reached with insects, birds, and mammals as dispersal agents.

Blue Grama is the state grass of Colorado and New Mexico. It is listed as an endangered species in Illinois.

CANARY GRASS

Canary Grass (Phalaris Canariensis) is a plant belonging to the family Poaceae. Originally a native of the Mediterranean region, it is now grown commercially in several parts of the world for birdseed.

Canary Grass is an annual grass growing 2 to 6 feet tall with an erect round, hairless stem. It lacks a strong, rhizomatous root system. Leaves are arranged alternate, 3.5 to 10 inches long tapering gradually, and 0.25 to 0.75 inches wide. The leaves are coarsely textured and bluish green in color. Leaves have a ligule (papery sheath at the base of leaf) present. It is 0.25 inches long and round at apex. Flowers are oval in shape, 0.5 to 1.5 inches long, green or purplish in color, turning tan as seed matures. It blooms July-August. Seeds are shiny, turning yellow to tan as it matures.

The seed is used as bird food and is generally mixed with rapeseed and other seeds that cheapen it. It should be kept in a dry place and away from vermin. Industrially, a flour made from seed is employed in the manufacture of fine cotton goods and silk stuffs.

Phalaris Canariensis resembles Phalaris Arundinacea (Reed Canary Grass), a perennial forage crop and a wild grass. Although heads of both crops are panicles, Canary Grass heads resemble Club Wheat.

In the Canary Islands, Italy and North Africa, Canary Grass is used as food. In certain parts of Mexico, such as Valle de Bravo, it is prepared and sold by street food vendors as a much appreciated form of atole.

However, the seed hulls appear to contain silica fibers, which are linked to esophageal cancer. In 2013, a new hull-less or glabrous variety was announced as a gluten-free food for humans.

CHEAT GRASS

Cheat Grass or Downy Brome (Bromus Tectorum) is a grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It is a Colorado List C noxious weed.

Cheat Grass is an annual bunchgrass, usually germinating in autumn, overwintering as a seedling, and then flowering in the spring or early summer. If winter rainfall is limiting and spring moisture is adequate, the seeds will germinate in the spring, and the plants will flower that summer. It typically reaches 16–35 inches tall, though plants as small as 1 inch may produce seed. It has an extensive root system. The wide-spreading lateral roots are one of the keys to the survival of this plant. A study showed that it had the capability to reduce soil moisture to the permanent wilting point to a depth of 28 inches, reducing competition from other species.

Cheat Grass can ripen and seed as early as mid June.

CRABGRASS

Crabgrass or Hairy Crabgrass (Digitaria Sanguinalis) is one of the better-known species of the genus Digitaria, and one that is known nearly worldwide as a common weed. It was brought to the United States by some immigrants to serve as hand-foraged grain. It is used as animal fodder, and the seeds are edible and have been used as a grain in Germany and especially Poland, where it is sometimes cultivated.

This has earned it the name Polish Millett.

It is an annual grass with an inflorescence of up to nine very long, very thin, radiating branches atop its stems.

Each branch is lined with pairs of very tiny spikelets. The inflorescences may be reddish or purplish.

Its usefulness to nineteenth-century homesteaders has made its seed widespread, and today is generally considered an unattractive nuisance. It is difficult to kill, as it will regenerate, and chemicals will likely harm surrounding grasses. The most efficient means of control is to pull patches, and keep the rest of the lawn watered and mowed at a height of two to three inches.

CRESTED WHEATGRASS

Crested Wheatgrass (Agropyron Cristatum) is a species in the Poaceae family. This plant is often used as forage and erosion control. It is well known as a widespread introduced species on the prairies of the United States and Canada.

This cool-season perennial bunchgrass grows 1-3 feet tall. Seed heads are flattened vertically; with compact overlapping spikelets. Each seed has a short awn. It is a long-lived perennial grass that grows quickly in a variety of habitats. Thanks to a combination of a deep fibrous root system which normally penetrate 3-6 feet into the soil and high tolerance of frost, drought, grazing and fire, as well as its ability to produce large amounts of viable seed, this species produces almost monotypic stands, thereby outcompeting native vegetation.

Originating in the Russian and Siberian steppes, it was first introduced to the North American prairies at the beginning of the 20th century to reseed abandoned cropland, from where it has invaded vast areas of rangeland across the upper USA and southern Canada. It is now considered a noxious weed in most parts of the world where it has been introduced and is considered as an invasive particularly in the USA and Canada.

GREEN FOXTAIL GRASS

Green Foxtail Grass (Setaria Viridis) is an annual grass native to Eurasia, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species. It is a hardy grass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat, including vacant lots, sidewalks, railroads, lawns, and at the margins of fields. It is the wild antecedent of the crop foxtail millet.

Each culm terminates in a spike-like panicle of florets. The exterior of each panicle is surrounded with ascending bristles that are light green or purple. The grains fall from the seedhead when they are ripe, while the bristles remain attached. The root system is shallow and fibrous. This grass reproduces by reseeding itself.

This weedy grass is found in full to partial sun, moist to dry-mesic conditions, and many kinds of soil, including those containing loam, clay, and gravel. After the seeds germinate, this grass develops very quickly. It is can produce several generations of plants in a single growing season.

MEADOW FOXTAIL

Meadow Foxtail or Field Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus Pratensis) is a perennial grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Europe and Asia. The species forms dense swards leading to low botanical diversity. This species is widely cultivated for pasture and hay, and has become naturalized in many areas outside of its native range, including Australia and North America.

This common non-native plant is found on grasslands and the margins of seasonal wetlands where there is little flooding. It is found on moist, neutral to fertile soils, but avoids waterlogged or very dry soils. It is found in habitats with a history of disturbance including fields and areas along railroads.

It flowers from April until June - one of the earliest grasses to do so. Any survey work carried out in midsummer may miss the grass as a result of this. During the blooming period, the large anthers are creamcolored, while the feathery styles are white. Later, the anthers become light brown. Each lemma contains a small grain and the seed can be sown at any time of the year when soil conditions are suitable. The root system is fibrous and rhizomatous. This grass forms a loose turf from its rhizomes.

It can grow to a height of about 110 cm (43 in). The stem is erect and hard at the shaft, the sheathes being smooth and cylindrical. The leaves are about 5 mm (0.20 in) wide and hairless. Meadow Foxtail has a cylindrical inflorescence with glumes about 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) wide and spikelets about 4–6 mm (0.16– 0.24 in) long. The ligule is 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) long, with a slightly tattered top.

This grass is palatable to cattle, horses, and other hoofed mammalian herbivores; it is sometimes planted in pastures as a source of forage. The caterpillars of some butterflies and moths use it as a food plant.

Additionally, male mosquitoes can often be found on this flower drinking the nectar out of it.

ORCHARD GRASS

Orchard Grass (Dactylis Glomerata) is a common species of grass in the genus Dactylis. It is a coarse, clump-forming, cool-season perennial bunchgrass native throughout most of Europe, temperate Asia, and northern Africa. It was introduced to North America as a forage grass over 200 years ago Orchard Grass grows in dense perennial tussocks, with grey-green leaves, and a distinctive tufted triangular flowerhead, which may be either green or red- to purple-tinged, turning pale grey-brown at seed maturity. The spikelets typically contain two to five flowers. It has a characteristic flattened stem base. It reproduces by seeds, and clumps can expand by producing new shoots (tillers) from the base of existing stems. It produces an extensive, fibrous root system.

It can be found in fields, waste areas, orchards and roadsides. Orchard Grass is shade tolerant and is common in many shady areas such as orchards, hence its common name. It is also drought tolerant, and does well in both rich and poor soils; however, it does not tolerate flooding.

QUACKGRASS

Quackgrass (Elymus Repens) is a very common perennial species of grass native to most of Europe, Asia, the Arctic biome, and northwest Africa. It has been brought into other mild northern climates for forage or erosion control, but is often considered a weed. It is a Colorado List C noxious weed.

Quackgrass grows from underground rhizomes to an unmowed height of 1 to 4 feet. It has thin, flat, bright ashy green leaf blades. The seed spike grows from 3 to 8 inches long and appears in July. Each Quackgrass plant produces about 25 seeds; they remain viable 3 to 5 years in the soil. It takes 2 to 3 months for a newly germinated plant to develop rhizomes (underground stems). It is very important to eliminate the plants before they reach this stage.

Quackgrass has a strong, deep root system with rhizomes that if split, can grow into separate plants. This quick spreading weed can take over very quickly and because most of the plant/weed is below the surface, it is very hard to control. Rhizomes are generally found within the top 6 inches of the soil, but they can penetrate as deep as 12 inches. Rhizomes are white to yellow, 1/8" in diameter, with distinct joints or nodes every inch or so. Each node is capable of producing fibrous roots, and sending a new blade of grass through the soil. One plant can produce 300 feet of rhizomes each year.

SIDEOATS GRAMA

Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua Curtipendula) is a perennial, short prairie grass that is native throughout the temperate and tropical Western Hemisphere, from Canada south to Argentina.

Sideoats Grama foliage is blue-green in color and the flowers are purple. The small, oat-like seeds develop on the side of the stalk. It is a warm-season grass, growing 12–39.5 inches tall, and grows well on mountainous plateaus, rocky slopes, and sandy plains. The grass is also drought tolerant and cold tolerant and is hardy in zones 4-9.

It is considered a good foraging grass for livestock and is cultivated as an ornamental plant for native plant and drought tolerant gardens, and is also good for erosion control.

Sideoats Grama is the state grass of Texas. It is currently listed as a threatened species in Michigan.

SMOOTH BROMEGRASS

Smooth Bromegrass (Bromus Inermis) is a species of the true grass family Poaceae. This bunchgrass is native to Europe. It is a cool-season grass introduced into the United States from Hungary in 1884. It was widely used in the upper half of North America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with distinguishable northern and southern varieties. Interest in the species flagged for a time but re-emerged when it proved to be more resistant to the Depression-era droughts than many other introduced grasses.

This leafy and sod-forming perennial spreads aggressively through both seeds and rhizomes. It grows 15 to 30 inches high and flowers during late spring and early summer in an open panicle. The presence of a w-shaped watermark midway between the collar and the tip of the leaf blade is also an identifying characteristic. Because of its highly developed root system, it is resistant to temperature extremes and drought. It grows best on deep, well-drained silt or clay loam but may also establish itself in sandier soils. However, it recovers poorly from cutting because its tiller apices, or tips, are vulnerable to removal.

WITCHGRASS

Witchgrass (Panicum Capillare) is a species of grass. It is native plant to most of North America from the East Coast through all of the West Coast and California. It can be found as an introduced species in Eurasia, and as a weed in gardens and landscaped areas. It grows in many types of habitat.

Witchgrass is an annual bunchgrass growing decumbent or erect to heights exceeding 3 feet. It is green to blue- or purple-tinged in color. In texture it is quite hairy, especially on the leaves and at the nodes.

The ligule is a fringe of long hairs. The inflorescence is a large open panicle which may be over half the total length of the plant. At maturity it fans out. As the plant dies and dries, the panicle may break off whole and becomes tumbleweed.

BEE: SWEAT BEE

Sweat Bee (Halictus Rubicundus) is a species of bee of the second-largest Bee family Halictidae. This common name comes from their known attraction to the salts of human perspiration.

This species of Sweat Bee is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It was introduced into North America from the Old World during one of two main invasions of Halictus subgenera. These invasions likely occurred via the Bering land bridge at times of low sea level during the Pleistocene epoch.

The family Halictidae is unique and easy to identify by its metallic appearance. The Sweat Bee specifically are less metallic, but have white stripes on the bottom of their abdominal segment and yellow-orange legs. The bee is less than half an inch in body length and black to dark brown in color, with white bands across the apices of the abdominal segments. The males are more slender, with longer antennae and yellow markings on the face and legs.

The nests are burrowed into the ground in loam soil. There are two nest types, social and solitary. Social populations typically nest in warmer regions, while solitary populations nest in cooler regions. Both solitary and social types of the species have nests in southward facing slopes built for the entrance of their burrows which maximizes the heat absorption from the sun, making the nest warmer. The in-ground nests are built in isolated areas and can be up to 5 inches deep. Because social nests produce more offspring than solitary nests, social nests will burrow further into the ground, as the second brood of the social population will be nested beneath the first brood.

They are likely to sting only if disturbed; the sting is minor.

BEE: TRICOLOR BUMBLEBEE

Hunt's Bumblebee (Bombus Huntii) or the Hunt Bumblebee is a species of bumblebee of the largest Bee family Apidae. It is native to western North America, where it occurs in western Canada and the United States as far east as Manitoba and Minnesota, and in Mexico as far south as the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

The word "bumblebee" is a compound of "bumble" and "bee", "bumble" meaning to hum, buzz, drone, or move ineptly or flounderingly. The genus Bombus, is derived from the Latin word for a buzzing or humming sound.

Bumblebees are varied in appearance, but are generally plump and densely furry. Compared to Honeybees they are larger and stouter-bodied and have a more rounded tip to the abdomen. Many species have broad bands of color, the patterns helping to distinguish different species.

This bee lives in desert scrub, prairies, and meadows. In the southern part of its range in Mexico it lives in pine ecosystems and it can be found at high elevations. The bee is active in summer and fall, and in southern areas it flies throughout much of the year. It nests underground, choosing old rodent burrows or sheltered places, and avoiding places that receive direct sunlight that could result in overheating.

Food plants visited by this species include Monardas, Rabbitbrush, Thistles, Sunflowers, Penstemons, Phacelias, Currants, Rudbeckias, and Clovers.

This species has experienced declines, but it is still one of the more common bees of western North America.

Bumblebees are important agricultural pollinators, so their decline in Europe, North America, and Asia is a cause for concern. Their decline has been caused by habitat loss, the mechanization of agriculture, and pesticides. .

BEE: WESTERN HONEY BEE

Western Honey Bee or European Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of Honey Bee worldwide and of the largest Bee family Apidae. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and Mellifera means "honey-bearing", referring to the species' tendency to produce a large quantity of honey for storage over the winter.

The Western Honey Bee was one of the first domesticated insects, and it is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination activities. The species is believed to have originated in Africa or Asia, from where it spread throughout Africa, the Middle East and Europe. With human assistance, the Western Honey Bee now occupies every continent except Antarctica. Because of its wide cultivation, this species is the single most important pollinator for agriculture globally. A number of pests and diseases threaten the honey bee, especially colony collapse disorder.

Like all Hymenopterans, Honey Bees have haplo-diploid sex determination. Unfertilized eggs (no paternal genetic contribution) develop into drones (males), and fertilized eggs (both maternal and paternal genetic contribution) develop into females. Female larvae that are fed the standard diet of pollen, nectar, and brood food become adult workers. Female larvae fed a rich diet of royal jelly, pollen, and nectar develop into queens.

Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees. Colony activities are organized by complex communication between individuals, through both odors and the dance language. Pheromones are essential to Honey Bee survival. Honey Bees rely on pheromones for nearly all behaviors, including mating, alarm, defense, orientation, kin and colony recognition, food production and integrating colony activities. Unlike most other bee species, Honey Bees have perennial colonies which persist year after year. Because of this high degree of sociality and permanence, Honey Bee colonies can be considered superorganisms, meaning that reproduction of the colony, rather than individual bees, is the biologically significant unit. Honey Bee colonies reproduce through a process called "swarming".

BEE: WESTERN LEAF-CUTTING BEE

Western Leaf-Cutting Bee (Megachile Perihirta) is a bee of the Solitary Bee family Megachilidae. The bee is native to western North America, ranging from Nebraska to Texas and Mexico, west to California, and north to British Columbia and Alberta, and often inhabits meadows and orchards.

This bee is black with whitish-yellow hair, more so below the thorax and abdomen. The abdomen, however, is mostly bare, although each segment has scattered whitish-yellow hair. The pollen basket below the abdomen is orange to bright red. The males have distinctive whitish-yellow “mittens� on their forelegs and a whitishyellow face. The male measures up to a half an inch long with the female being slightly larger.

The wings of the Western Leaf-Cutting Bee are clear, while their veins are black. While grounded, this bee also holds its wings out to the side like a housefly instead of holding them straight back like other bees.

The Western Leaf-Cutting Bee’s habitat includes gardens, meadows and orchards. Adults are seen normally from June to August, and live around one year.

Soon after these bees mate, the males disappear for the year and the females begin to work at provisioning their nests. The nests are created when a small group of bees work together to dig small underground burrows concealed by dense vegetation, or in rotting plants or wood. Inside this burrow, the bees construct a series of cells lined with round leaf fragments that the female cuts from leaves. The cells are not all constructed in one tunnel. Each cell contains pollen and nectar, then one egg is laid inside a cell.

Adults drink nectar and visit flowers from several families. Pollen is collected from a wide range of flowering plants, primarily from the family Asteraceae also called Compositae (Daisy Family). The larvae feed on both nectar and pollen.

BEETLE: BUMBLE FLOWER BEETLE

Bumble Flower Beetle (Euphoria Inda) also known as Brown Fruit Chafer, is the most widely distributed species of Scarab Beetles of the family Scarabaeidae in North America, ranging from Quebec south to Florida, west to British Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, and southeastern Arizona. These beetles are related to other white grub beetles, such as June Beetles, Japanese Beetles and Chafer Beetles, but are not a pest of major concern.

The Bumble Flower Beetles are medium-sized, broadly oval Scarab Beetles about 1/2 to 5/8 inches long. They feed on nectar and pollen from flowers, on fermenting plant sap, and on overripe and rotting fruits and vegetables. The head and pronotum are mostly black, while the elytra are yellowish-brown with variable black spots. The dorsal surface is shiny or dull. The rest of the body is densely covered with yellowish-brown hairs.

The Bumble Flower Scarab resembles a bee in flight, right down to the buzzing sound as it flies low over the ground.

The grubs (larvae) develop in various accumulations of plant materials, rotten wood, and within the thatched nests of ants. The grubs feed on plant roots below ground for 3-4 years before changing into adult beetles. The adults emerge from their earthen pupal cases in late summer, overwinter, and become active again the following spring. There is only one generation per year.

The adult beetles are often found flying close to the ground in the morning until midday, especially over piles of grass, edges of haystacks, compost piles, manure, and other plant debris. They are found in numbers feeding on a wide variety of sweet or fermenting liquids. They are commonly attracted in late summer to the sap from wounds on tree trunks and exposed roots. They also may occasionally feed on Corn and ripe fruits such as Apples, Grapes, Melons, Peaches, and Tomatoes. The pollen and nectar of flowers such as Sunflower, Strawflower, and Daylily may also be food plants.

BEETLE: COLORADO POTATO BEETLE

Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa Decemlineata) also known as Colorado Beetle, Ten-Lined Potato Beetle and Potato Bug, is a major agricultural pest species of Leaf Beetle of the family Chrysomelidae. The beetle is native to America and Mexico and is present in all states except Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. It has a wide distribution across Europe and Asia. It is a major pest of Potato crops.

The Colorado Potato Beetle was first discovered in 1811 and was described in 1824 from specimens collected in the Rocky Mountains found on Buffalo Bur. Its first association with the Potato plant was not known until about 1859 when it began destroying Potato crops in the region of Omaha, Nebraska. It had spread east and reached the Atlantic Coast by 1874.

Colorado Potato Beetle females are very prolific and are capable of laying over 500 eggs in a 4 to 5 week period. The eggs are a bright yellowish-orange, and are football shaped. The eggs hatch into orangish-pink larvae with humped backs and two rows of dark black spots on either side. Larvae progress through four distinct instars (growth stages). Adults are approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, with an orange colored body with ten black stripes along the length of its pale yellowish tan elytra (wing shell plate). This beetle can go from egg to adult in as little as 21 days. There two to three generations per year.

This beetle has a strong association with plants in the Nightshade family. They are directly associated with the Potato, Tomato, Tomatillo, Eggplant, Pepper, Ground Cherry, Buffalo Bur, Bittersweet Nightshade, Black Nightshade, Hairy Nightshade, and Silverleaf Nightshade plants.

Besides handpicking the beetles from the plants, place a heavy layer of straw mulch around your plants. The mulch inhibits the Colorado Potato Beetle's ability to actually find the plants. The straw mulch also acts as a microenvironment that encourages the beetle's natural predators, including Ground Beetles which feed on larvae, and Ladybugs and Green Lacewings which feed on both eggs and larvae.

BEETLE: EYED CLICK BEETLE

Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus Oculatus) also known as the Eyed Elater is a species of Click Beetle of the family Elateridae. This species is present in Central and North America. These beetles are found around deciduous woods and in areas with many hardwood trees, such as Apple, Cherry, or Oak, especially in areas with a lot of rotting logs.

Female beetles lay eggs in the soil and produce slow-growing larva (wire worms). The larva pupate in rotting logs or below the ground. The beetles emerge in the spring and are commonly found until September.

The larva are slender and are up to 2 inches long, hard-shelled, yellowish to dark brown, and jointed. The larva have dark heads and appear segmented. They have three pairs of legs. The last four segments are dark brown and the 9th segment has what appear to be pronged teeth, while the 10th segment has two anal hooks, 10-12 spines, and hairs in front of the anus. The Eyed Click Beetle spends most of its life in the larval form, perhaps as long as 2-5 years.

Adults are long and thin and reach a length of 1-2 inches. It has distinctive eyespots that cover about one third the length of the pronotum. These large spots are black with a white ring. They provide a distinctive coloration pattern that make the beetle appear to have large eyes on its back, affording it a little extra protection from predators who may be startled at the sight of seemingly threatening "eyes". The beetles are covered in minute scales that function well as protective coloration.

The beetles themselves eat nectar from flowers. The larva are notorious pests that consume the roots of Corn, Grains, Wild Grasses, Potatoes, Beets, Carrots, Beans, Lettuce, Onions, Turnips, and certain kinds of flowers.

The larva are also found in and around the stumps of hardwood trees such as Cherry, Apple, and Oak. Unlike its many cousins, this larva is a ferocious meat-eater that dines on many other noxious larvae, including those of wood-boring beetles, flies, and other undesirables.

BEETLE: FLEA BEETLE

Flea Beetle is a general name applied to the small, jumping beetles of the Leaf Beetle family Chrysomelidae.

They are common pests of many vegetable crops and they occasionally damage flowers, shrubs and even trees. Adult beetles, which produce most plant injuries, are typically small, often shiny, and have large rear legs that allow them to jump like a flea when disturbed.

Flea Beetles produce a characteristic injury known as “shot-holing.” The adults chew many small holes or pits in the leaves, which make them look as if they have been damaged by fine buckshot. Young plants and seedlings are particularly susceptible. Growth may be seriously retarded and plants even killed. Flea Beetles execute their most severe attacks during dry weather and are most active on sunny days.

Although there is some overlap of tastes, each type of flea beetle has a decided preference for certain plants.

For example, some Flea Beetles feed only on Potatoes, Tomatoes and other members of the nightshade family. Others have a taste for Broccoli, Cabbage and other cole crops.

“Trap crops” work in some Flea Beetle control situations. Plant a highly favored crop to attract Flea Beetles away from the main crop. Radish or Daikon can protect other seedling crucifers (e.g., Broccoli, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts) that are more sensitive to Western Cabbage Flea Beetle. The trap crop may then be harvested or destroyed after the main crop has established itself sufficiently to outgrow Flea Beetle injury.

Diatomaceous earth is one of the more effective repellents, applied as a dry powder to the plants. Some neem oils also have some repellent effect on this insect. Flea Beetles can be deterred by a number of different companion plants, which can be grown intercropped in a garden to benefit neighboring plants. For example, Thyme, Catnip, and other kinds of Mint cover up the scent of nearby plants.

BEETLE: JAPANESE BEETLE

Japanese Beetle (Popillia Japonica) is a major pest species of Scarab Beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.

These insects damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage by consuming only the leaf material between the veins, and may also feed on the fruit of the plants. It is not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, but in North America, it is a serious pest of about 300 species of plants.

Japanese Beetles feed on a large range of hosts, including flowers, fruit, and leaves of Beans, Corn, Eggplant, Hops, Okra, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Spinach, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Blackberries, Grapes, Raspberries, Strawberries, Canna, Coneflower, Hibiscus, Roses, Apples, Cherries, Peaches, and Plums.

There is only one generation per year. In late summer and autumn, the adults lay eggs individually, or in small clusters near the soil surface. Within approximately two weeks, the ova hatch, the larvae feed on fine roots and other organic material and overwinter and hibernate in small cells in the soil. Within 4-6 weeks of breaking hibernation in the spring, the larvae will pupate and become c-shaped grubs which consume coarser roots and may do more damage to plants and turf. Adult beetles have an iridescent copper-colored elytra and green thorax and head. A row of white tufts of hair project from under the wing covers on each side of the body.

The presence of these beetles on a plant attracts more beetles to that plant. Natural repellents include Catnip, Chives, Garlic, and Tansy, but these methods have limited effectiveness. The most effective way of preventing Japanese Beetles is to use a floating row cover. Using a floating cover keeps these insects from ever reaching your plants as long as it’s secured to the soil around the plants thoroughly. But once you have them, you need to be proactive in eradicating them from your garden. Handpick Beetles and drown them in a bucket of warm soapy water. Japanese Beetle traps are mostly ineffective. Studies conducted suggest beetles attracted to traps frequently do not end up in the traps, but instead on plants in the vicinity, thus causing more damage along the flight path of the beetles and near the trap than may have occurred if the trap were not present.

BEETLE: LADYBUG

Ladybugs (Coccinellidae) and also known as Ladybirds in Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world, is a widespread family of small beetles ranging from 0.8 to 18 mm (0.03 to 0.71 in). Entomologists widely prefer the names Ladybird Beetles or Lady Beetles as these insects are not classified as True Bugs.

Ladybugs are found worldwide, with over 6,000 species described.

The majority of Ladybug species are generally considered useful insects, because many species prey on agricultural pests such as Aphids or Scale Insects. Many Ladybugs lay their eggs directly in Aphid and Scale Insect colonies in order to ensure their larvae have an immediate food source.

Most Ladybugs have round to elliptical, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. They are commonly yellow, orange, or red with small black spots on their elytra (wing covers), with black legs, heads and antennae.

However such color patterns vary greatly. Depending on the species, they can have spots, stripes, or no markings at all.

Ladybugs in temperate regions enter dormancy during the winter, so they often are among the first insects to appear in the spring. Most Ladybugs overwinter as adults, aggregating on the south sides of large objects such as trees or houses during the winter months, dispersing in response to increasing day length in the spring.

The main predators of Ladybugs are usually birds, but they are also the prey of frogs, wasps, spiders, and dragonflies. Their distinctive spots and attractive colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators.

Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. Their coloring is likely a reminder to any animals that have tried to eat their kind before: "I taste awful." A threatened Ladybug may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself.

BEETLE: SPOTTED CUCUMBER BEETLE

Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica Undecimpunctata) is a major agricultural pest species of Leaf Beetle of the family Chrysomelidae. They are found throughout southern Canada, continental USA, and the central highlands of Mexico. The adults can be found on cucurbits such as Cucumbers and a variety of other plants.

Many are notorious pests of agricultural crops. The larvae of several Cucumber Beetles are known as Corn Rootworms.

Adult Spotted Cucumber Beetles are about Âź inch long and have 12 black spots on a yellow abdomen and a black head and antennae. The larvae are worm-like, white to yellow, dark-headed, and have three pairs of legs on the thorax.

In the adult form, it eats and damages leaves of many crops including Cucumbers, Soybeans, Cotton, Beans, and many others. In its larval form, it tunnels through the roots of young plants, stunting or killing them. These native pests have a wide range of host plants, but will readily infest a field of crop plants, most notoriously Corn.

Often, the Cucumber Beetles alone will not kill the plants or cause major damage, but the spread of disease will. Feeding by adult Cucumber Beetles can spread bacterial wilt disease among cucurbit plants, even when population density is low. The diseases they carry can also overwinter internally, and can be passed onto plants the next spring through fecal matter.

Adult Cucumber Beetles overwinter in weeds, garden debris, and woody areas. Eradication efforts may include manual removal, clearing cultivated areas of litter, debris, and infested plants. Rotate crops so cucurbit crops are not planted directly into soils containing overwintering populations. Tilling your garden in the late fall will expose Cucumber Beetles hiding there to harsh winter conditions and reduce their populations next year.

BROWN CENTIPEDE

Brown Centipede (Lithobius Forficatus) or Stone Centipede, is a common European species of centipede of the centipede family Lithobiidae, although its distribution is not exclusive to Europe. It is between 18 and 30 mm long and up to 4 mm broad and is a chestnut brown color.

Like most Lithobiids, it is found in the upper layers of soil, particularly under rocks and rotting logs. This species can be fairly easily identified by its reaction to being revealed, which is to run extremely quickly for cover.

Some species of centipedes can be hazardous to humans because of their bite, but these smaller centipedes are generally incapable of piercing human skin.

Centipedes are predominantly generalist predators, which means they have adapted to eat a variety of different available prey. Examination of centipede gut contents suggests that plant material is an unimportant part of their diets, although centipedes have been observed to eat vegetable matter when starved during laboratory experiments.

They leave the egg with seven pairs of legs, and each time they molt, they develop additional body segments with a new pair of legs on each. They reach a mature segment count of 15 trunk segments. They have also lost the compound eyes, and sometimes have no eyes altogether. Instead, its eyes have a single ocellus or a group of ocelli. The Brown Centipede may live for as long as five to six years.

Centipedes are sometimes considered frightening by humans due to their dozens of legs moving at the same time and their tendency to dart swiftly out of the darkness towards one's feet. A 19th-century Tibetan poet warned his fellow Buddhists, "if you enjoy frightening others, you will be reborn as a centipede." ...

BUTTERFLY: BLACK SWALLOWTAIL

Black Swallowtail (Papilio Polyxenes) also known as American Swallowtail or Parsnip Swallowtail, is a species of butterfly of the swallowtail family Papilionidae. The species is named after the figure in Greek mythology, Polyxena, who was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy. Its caterpillar is called the Parsley worm because the caterpillar feeds on Parsley.

Black Swallowtails are found throughout much of North America. They are found from southern Canada to South America. In North America they are more common east of the Rocky Mountains. They are usually found in open areas like fields, parks, marshes or deserts, and they prefer tropical or temperate habitats.

Males (pictured) typically have less blue hue in their hindwings, and more prominent yellow wing markings.

Females typically have more blue hue in their hindwings, and less prominent yellow wing markings.

Black Swallowtails use a variety of herbs in the Carrot family, but will choose the food plants for their larvae based on visual and chemical variations. Common host plants include Rue, Curly Parsley, Carrot Tops, Golden Alexander, Bronze Smokey Fennel, Dill, Celery, Asparagus, and Queen Anne’s Lace.

Females lay single pale yellow eggs on host plants, usually on the new foliage and occasionally on flowers.

The eggs stage lasts 4–9 days, the larval stage 10–30 days, and the pupal stage 18 days. The duration of these stages may vary depending on temperature and the species of the host plants. Winter is spent in the chrysalis stage, and adults will emerge in the spring to seek out host plants. Adults will emerge in the mornings on a daily basis. First brood adults will fly from mid-May until late June, second brood adults will fly from early July until late August, and occasionally a partial third brood will occur that will emerge later in the season.

It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma and New Jersey.

BUTTERFLY: CHECKERED WHITE

Checkered White (Pontia Protodice) or Southern Cabbage Butterfly, is a common North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. This butterfly is most commonly found in the southern parts on the United States along with some of the northern areas of Mexico. Occasionally the species can be found in the northern parts of the U.S. and southern Canada. It is absent from the Pacific Northwest and the New England area, although populations have become increasingly erratic just east of the Appalachians. They are most widespread in late summer and autumn, not earlier in the season.

It features white wings populated with dark gray spots, and its body tends to have a bluish coloration. It's normal size is in the 1.25" - 2.00" range. Its larva is a type of cabbage worm which eats only the outer leaves in contrast to larvae of the Cabbage White Butterfly (imported cabbageworm), which bore into the cabbage heads. The upperside of the wings are white and marked with black and gray, more so on the female (pictured) than on the male.

Adults prefer nectar from a variety of flower species including Mustards, Composites, Lantana, and Alfalfa.

Common host plants include Brazos Rockcress, Sicklepod, Black Mustard, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Turnip, Pinnate Tansy-Mustard, Flixweed Tansy-Mustard, Prairie Pepperweed, Virginia Pepper-Grass, Radish, Tumble Mustard, and Field Pennycress.

Females lay eggs which are yellowish when first laid but later change to orange. They are barrel-shaped, tapered at the apex and have longitudinal ridges. Eggs are often laid on the fruits of host plants but may also be laid on stems. Larvae prefer flowers or fruits but will also eat leaves of the host plants. The full grown caterpillars are approximately 1.1" in length. The head is gray with yellow patches, the body is gray with yellow stripes, rows of small black spots and numerous short hairs.

BUTTERFLY: EASTERN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio Glaucus) is a species of butterfly of the swallowtail family Papilionidae. It is native to eastern North America and is found east of the Rocky Mountains. It is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States. It is one of several swallowtail species that have yellow wings with black tiger striping. The wingspan ranges from 3 to 5.5 inches.

The male is yellow with four black stripes on each forewing. Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic. The female yellow morph (pictured) is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black with blue spots along the hindwing.

This butterfly is found in woodlands, fields, rivers, creeks, roadsides, and gardens. It will stray into urban parks and city yards. Because it has adapted to many different habitats and host plants, it is a generalist, and is not considered threatened. Adults are seen from spring to fall, although the exact date varies depending on the location. In the south, they are seen from February to November; in the north, they are seen from May to September. It prefers nectar of flowers from a variety of plants including Butterfly Bush, Ironweed, Japanese Honeysuckle, Joe-Pye Weed, Lilac, Milkweed, Phlox, and Wild Cherry.

The females lay green eggs singly on host plant leaves on a variety of plants including Wild Cherry, Sweetbay, Basswood, Tulip Tree, Birch, Ash, Cottonwood, Mountain Ash, and Willow. Young caterpillars are brown and white; older ones are green with two black, yellow, and blue eyespots on the thorax. The caterpillar will turn brown prior to pupating. It will reach a length of 2.2 inches. The chrysalis varies from a whitish color to dark brown. Hibernation occurs in this stage in locations with cold winter months. It produces two to three broods per year.

It is the state butterfly of Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

BUTTERFLY: MONARCH

Monarch (Danaus Plexippus) is a "Milkweed Butterfly" in the family Nymphalidae. It may be the most familiar North American butterfly, and is considered an iconic pollinator species. The name "Monarch" is believed to be given in honor of King William III of England, whose secondary title Prince of Orange makes a reference to the butterfly's main color. It is often confused with the Viceroy Butterfly which is similar in color and pattern, but is smaller and has an extra black stripe across each hindwing.

The Monarch ranges from southern Canada through northern South America. It has also been found in Bermuda, Cuba, and other Caribbean islands, the Solomons, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Gibraltar, the Azores, and North Africa. It appears in the UK in some years as an accidental migrant.

Males (pictured) are slightly larger than females and have a black patch or spot on each hindwing. The male's black wing veins are lighter and narrower than those of females.

Although larvae (caterpillars) eat only Milkweed, adult Monarchs feed on the nectar of many plants including Alfalfa, Asters, Blazing Stars, Common Boneset, Coneflowers, Dame's Rocket, Goldenrod, Horseweed, Indian Hemp, Lilac, Milkweeds, Red Clover, Tall Ironweed, Teasel, Thistles, and Wild Carrot.

Monarch females will lay eggs along the southern migration route. Eggs are laid singly on the underside of a Milkweed plant leaf and hatch after 3-8 days. The caterpillar eats its egg case and begins to feed on Milkweed.

After several molts, it attains a length of almost 2 inches. Then it leaves its Milkweed plant to pupate elsewhere as a pale green, golden-spotted chrysalis. Adults live only a few weeks, except for those that migrate south and overwinter in Mexico, which live 7-9 months. There are about four generations that occur annually.

The Monarch is the state butterfly of Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia.

BUTTERFLY: PAINTED LADY

Painted Lady (Vanessa Cardui) is a well-known colorful butterfly, also known as the Cosmopolitan Butterfly because of its global distribution. It is also called the Thistle Butterfly because thistle plants are its favorite nectar plant for food. Its scientific name Vanessa Cardui means "butterfly of thistle".

The Painted Lady is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. In Australia, the Painted Lady has a limited range, however, its close relative, the Australian Painted Lady ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American Painted Lady and the West Coast Lady. The Painted Lady is known for its distinct migratory behavior. Their migration patterns are highly erratic and they do not migrate every year. Some evidence suggests that global climatic events, such as el NiĂąo, may affect the migratory behavior of the these butterflies, causing large-scale migrations.

Gender differences do exist in this species, but they're very subtle, the abdomen of the males tends to be smaller than that of females. Wing pattern variations don’t correspond to gender.

Besides Thistle, the larvae (caterpillars) feed on various flowering plants of the very large and widespread family of flowering plants commonly referred to as the Aster, Daisy, Composite, or Sunflower family. Adult butterflies feed on flower nectar and Aphid honeydew.

The main defense mechanisms of the Painted Lady butterflies include flight and camouflage. It is almost constantly in motion and has a strange habit of flying in a sort of screw shape. The caterpillars construct small silk tents on top of leaves or by stitching the leaves together to hide from predators.

Painted Lady butterflies are bred in schools for educational purposes and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events and weddings.

BUTTERFLY: TWO-TAILED SWALLOWTAIL

Two-Tailed Swallowtail (Papilio Multicaudata) is a species of butterfly of the swallowtail family Papilionidae. It is a large swallowtail of western North America, one of several species that have yellow wings with black tiger striping. Its appearance is similar to the Western and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, but has narrower black stripes and usually two tails on each hindwing. The wingspan ranges from 3 to 6.5 inches, making it the largest swallowtail in western North America.

The Two-Tailed Swallowtail are found from western North America from southern British Columbia, Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, east to central Nebraska and central Texas, south through Mexico to Guatemala.

As is the case with most swallowtails, females (pictured) are larger and more brightly colored than males, having more blue and orange markings on the hindwings. It does not tend to hybridize with related species as do the western, eastern, and Canadian tiger swallowtails.

Adults are found near water sources like streams and creeks. They drink flower nectar and can be spotted on blossoms as well as in flight. They are active spring through autumn. The host plants include Chokecherry, Bitter Cherry, Rosewood, Single-Leaf Ash, Hoptree, and Sycamore. Elsewhere in the west, it often uses Green Ash planted along city streets.

Females lay clear to yellow-green colored eggs singly on the host plant. There is only one brood per year. The caterpillars have yellow-orange faces and are a fleshy green when young and later turning a copper-orange color. The caterpillars will fold the host plant's leaves and tie them together with silk and they will then eat from this structure. The pupae will overwinter then emerge in May. The Two-Tailed Swallowtail is the state butterfly of Arizona.

BUTTERFLY: VARIEGATED FRITILLARY

Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta Claudia) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.

Their flight is low and swift, but even when resting or nectaring, this species is extremely difficult to approach, and, because of this, its genus name was taken from the Greek word Euptoietos meaning "easily scared".

The Variegated Fritillary are found in higher elevations of Argentina through Central America and Mexico to the southern United States; also Cuba and Jamaica. Regularly colonizes north through most of the United States except the Pacific Northwest. They are often found in open, disturbed habitats such as clover and alfalfa fields, pastures, fields, waste areas, roadsides, and mountain meadows. Adults overwinter in the south and fly north each spring and summer. It may be seen flying from April to October in the south, while in the north it flies from summer to early fall.

Gender differences do exist in this species, but they're very subtle, the abdomen of the males tends to be smaller than that of females. Wing pattern variations don’t correspond to gender.

Adults prefer nectar from several plant species including Asters, Butterflyweed, Common and Swamp Milkweed, Coneflowers, Dogbane, Peppermint, Red Clover, Sedum, Thistles and Tickseed Sunflower.

Common host plants include Flax, Moonseed, Passionflower, Plantain, Purslane, and Violets.

Females lay their cream-colored to pale-green eggs singly on host plant leaves and stems. It has three broods from April-October in the north, four broods from February or March-November or December in the south. The larva (caterpillar) eats the leaves, flowers, and stems of the host food plant. It is orange to red with black subdorsal and spiracular stripes infused with white spotting. In many individuals, the white is more conspicuous than the black. The red middorsal stripe bears white (sometimes black) oval-shaped spots, one per segment. It has six rows of black spines and has a pair of long, clubbed spines on the head. Despite their spines and threatening appearance, they do not sting.

DARING JUMPING SPIDER

Daring Jumping Spider (Phidippus Audax) or Bold Jumping Spider, is a common species of spider in North America of the jumping spider family Salticidae. Like other jumping spiders, due to their large, forward-facing eyes, they have very good stereoscopic vision. This aids them when stalking prey, and allows some visual communication with others of their species, such as courting 'dances'.

The Daring Jumping Spider has a distinctive black or dark-gray hairy abdomen. They have three white spots on their abdomen, but in juveniles, the spots may be red or orange. The adult female is about 3/8 to 3/4 inch long, and the adult male is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. They have eight legs with bands of white spaced up and down the legs, eight eyes, the center two are very large and prominent, and mouthparts are iridescent blue or green in color.

Like most jumping spiders, it tends to prefer relatively open areas to hunt in, as they actively seek and stalk prey and do not build webs to catch food. They do use webbing, however, only when laying eggs or to hide.

They also use spider silk as a 'lifeline' when jumping for prey or evading predators.

They are common in fields and grasslands, but are frequently seen on fences, exterior walls, and gardens as well. Many jumping spiders seem to prefer flat vertical surfaces, likely due to the fact that it enables them to spot and chase down roaming insects with ease.

This spider eats a range of insects and other spiders, and these spiders are known prey for dragonflies, birds and lizards. These spiders are solitary hunters who are active during the day. Jumping spiders have extremely good vision, a characteristic useful for observing both prey and predators.

Like most spiders, it rarely bites humans. While symptoms of a bite may vary, the most likely symptoms are slight pain and localized redness of the skin.

EARWIG

Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forceps-like pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded underneath short, rarely used forewings, hence the scientific order name, "Skin Wings". Earwigs are abundant and can be found throughout the Americas and Eurasia and are found on all continents except Antarctica.

The Earwig was introduced into North America in 1907 from Europe, but tends to be more common in the southern and southwestern parts of the United States. The only native species of earwig found in the north of the United States is the spine-tailed earwig (Doru Aculeatum), found as far north as Canada, where it hides in the leaf axils of emerging plants in southern Ontario wetlands. Out of about 1,800 species, about 25 occur in North America, 45 in Europe (including 7 in Great Britain), and 60 in Australia.

Few Earwigs survive winter outdoors in cold climates. They are mostly nocturnal and often hide in small, moist crevices during the day, and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of insects and plants. Damage to foliage, flowers, and various crops is commonly blamed on Earwigs.

The Earwig is an omnivore, eating plants and ripe fruit as well as actively hunting arthropods. To a large extent, this species is also a scavenger, feeding on decaying plant and animal matter if given the chance.

Observed prey include largely Plant Lice, but also large insects such as Bluebottle Flies and Woolly Aphids.

Plants that they feed on typically include Butterfly Bush, Clover, Dahlias, Hollyhock, Roses, Zinnias, Lettuce, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Sunflowers, Celery, Strawberry, Blackberry, Peaches, Plums, Grapes, seedling Beans and Beets, and tender grass shoots and roots. They have also been known to eat Corn silk, damaging the Corn.

GREATER ANGLE-WING KATYDID

Greater Angle-Wing Katydid (Microcentrum Rhombifolium) also know as Broad-Winged Katydid and False Katydid is a species in the family Tettigoniidae of Katydids and in the order Orthoptera which is made up of Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids that have large back legs for jumping. Katydids get their name from the sound they make. Their repetitive clicks and calls sounded like someone saying "ka-ty-did", so that phrase became the common name. It is found in gardens, parks, meadows, woodlands, and yards across much of North America.

Despite its misleading name, the False Katydid is a true Katydid. Its name refers to the rapid “tic-tic-tic-tic� sound that they make by rubbing one wing against the other. This sound is unlike the more common "ka-ty-did" call.

These are large insects, with some at least two inches from the head to the tip of the wings. They are palegreen color and blend in well with foliage. They have leaf-shaped wings and veins that make it look just like part of the plant it is sitting on. It eats a wide variety of vegetation. Unfortunately, its diet often includes many ornamental plants, making it a pest in more populated areas. Although Katydids feed on leaves, this damage is mostly insignificant. In addition, they may feed on small insects.

The overwintering stage of Katydids are eggs, which are very distinctive and attract attention. Females lay flat, cream colored eggs, similar to small pumpkin seeds, by roughening the bark and gluing the eggs onto twigs, which appear as overlapping rows of pale scales. The eggs hatch the following spring and the young nymphs develop during the season, becoming full grown in late summer. The nymphs look more like small green crickets or grasshoppers. They have vivid colors and dark spots or speckles on them which changes as they mature. There is only one generation per year.

Katydids will remain very still when on alert, but will quickly fly away when threatened, scared or disturbed.

GREEN LACEWING

Green Lacewings are insects in the large family Chrysopidae, of the order Neuroptera. There are about 85 genera and 1,300–2,000 species in this widespread group. Members of the genera Chrysopa and Chrysoperia are very common in North America and Europe. Since they are the most familiar neuropterans to many people, they are often simply called "Lacewings".

Green Lacewings are delicate insects with a wingspan of 6 to over 65 mm, though the largest forms are tropical. They are characterized by a wide costal field in their wing venation, which includes the cross-veins.

The bodies are usually bright green to greenish-brown, and the compound eyes are conspicuously golden in many species. The wings are usually translucent with a slight iridescence; some have green wing veins or a cloudy brownish wing pattern. Adults have tympanal organs at the forewings' base, enabling them to hear well.

Some Chrysopa show evasive behavior when they hear a bat's ultrasound calls: when in flight, they close their wings (making their echolocational signature smaller) and drop down to the ground. Green lacewings also use substrate or body vibrations as a form of communication between themselves.

Green Lacewings are crepuscular or nocturnal. They feed on pollen, nectar and honeydew supplemented with mites, aphids and other small arthropods, and some, namely Chrysopa, are mainly predatory.

Eggs are deposited at night, singly or in small groups; one female produces some 100–200 eggs. Eggs are placed on plants, usually where aphids are present nearby in numbers. Each egg is hung on a slender stalk about 1 cm long, usually on the underside of a leaf. Immediately after hatching, the larvae molt, then ascend the egg stalk to feed. They are voracious predators, attacking most insects of suitable size, especially softbodied ones (aphids, caterpillars, and other insect larvae, insect eggs, and at high population densities also each other). The larvae are colloquially known as "aphid lions" or "aphid wolves".

MOTH: MILLER MOTH - ARMY CUTWORM

Miller Moth (Euxoa Auxiliaris) is the adult form of the Army Cutworm of the family Noctuidae. It is commonly found in the western section and prairies of the United States. They are known to travel to alpine climate regions in late June and early July. Its adult name "Miller Moth" comes from the fine scales on its wings that rub off easily and remind people of the dusty flour that covers the clothing of a miller.

Its larvae (caterpillars) are pests of a wide variety of plants and nearly all field crops including Wheat, Alfalfa, Barley, Potato, Sugar Beets and other vegetables and grasses as well as broad-leaved weeds. The Miller Moth is a seasonal nuisance in the spring in states including Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Kansas. They are considered nearly impossible to control through normal pest extermination techniques because a new batch shows up every day as they migrate. With their very small bodies, they enter homes (attracted by the light) in the evening through any available crack or crevice (doorjamb, chimney, etc.) and residents in migration paths report dozens of moths per day entering their homes and garages. However, other than being a nuisance, they are not considered harmful.

Eggs are laid directly onto the soil, with bare soils such as cultivated or overgrazed areas being preferred. The eggs hatch after a suitable rain. The larvae feed above ground at night and on cool days, hiding in the soil or under clods during the day and they overwinter as partly grown larvae. The larvae resume feeding in the spring, pupate, and the adults emerge in late spring and early summer. After emerging, the adults migrate to higher, cooler elevations for the summer where they feed at night on the nectar of wildflowers. They return as the weather cools (but in smaller numbers) in late summer and early fall to lay eggs.

Army Cutworms are one of the richest foods for predators, such as brown bears, in this ecosystem, where up to 72 per cent of the moth's body weight is fat, thus making it more calorie-rich than elk or deer. This is the highest known body fat percentage of any animal.

MOTH: TOBACCO HAWK MOTH - TOBACCO HORNWORM

Tobacco Hawk Moth (Manduca Sexta) also known as Carolina Sphinx Moth is the adult form of the Tobacco Hornworm. It is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the American continent. It is closely related to and often confused with the very similar Tomato Hornworm. The larvae of both Hornworms feed on the foliage of various plants of the Nightshade family.

The larvae of the Tobacco and Tomato Hornworms can be distinguished by their lateral markings: Tomato Hornworms have eight V-shaped white markings with no borders; Tobacco Hornworms have seven white diagonal lines with a black border. Tobacco Hornworms have red horns, while Tomato Hornworms have dark blue or black horns. The Tobacco Hornworm is sometimes kept as a pet by children throughout its range.

Adult Tobacco Hawk Moths feed on flower nectar, demonstrating a remarkable ability to hover.

Adult males are identifiable by their broader antennae and the presence of claspers at the end of the abdomen.

Female moths are typically ready to mate one week after emerging from their chrysalis, and do so only once.

Males may mate many times.

This hornworm has a short life cycle, lasting about 30 to 50 days. In most areas, it has about two generations per year, but can have three or four generations per year in tropical regions.

Tobacco Hornworm eggs are spherical, approximately 1.5 millimeters in diameter, and translucent green. They typically hatch two to four days after they are laid. Eggs are normally found on the underside of foliage, but can also be found on the upper surface. The larvae are green and grow up to 3 inches in length. During the larval stage, the caterpillars feed on plants of the Nightshade family, such as Tobacco, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Eggplant, Bell and Chili Peppers. The Tobacco Hornworm is capable of metabolizing nicotine from the tobacco plant and using nicotine as a defense against predators.

MOTH: WHITE-LINED SPHINX

White-Lined Sphinx (Hyles Lineata) is a Hawk Moth of the family Sphingidae. It is also called the Striped Morning Hawkmoth, because it flies at dusk and dawn. They are sometimes erroneously referred to as the Hummingbird Moth because of their size (2-3 inch wingspan) and flight patterns. It has a wide geographic range that extends from Central America to southern Canada through Mexico and most of the United States.

They can also be found occasionally in the West Indies.

Females lay up to 100 eggs on various host plants including Four O’Clocks, Evening Primrose, Fuschia, Grape, Purslane, and Tomato. It takes about 8 weeks to grow into a full sized caterpillar from an egg. Once the caterpillars reach their maximum size, they dig shallow burrows and pupate underground and emerge as adults in 2-3 weeks.

The larvae show wide variation in color. They are lime green or black with orange spots arranged in lines down the whole body. An orange horn protruding from the back of the body is a distinguishing characteristic of these caterpillars. This horn, which may sometimes be yellow and have a black tip, is not a stinger, and the caterpillars are not harmful to humans. The larvae are powerful eaters and are known to form massive groupings capable of damaging crops and gardens.

Adult White-Lined Sphinx Moths feed on flower nectar, demonstrating a remarkable ability to hover. As prevalent pollinators, these moths rely on both scent and visual perception to locate and recognize flowers.

They seek nectar from a variety of sources including Clovers, Columbines, Honeysuckle, Jimson Weed, Larkspurs, Lilac, Petunias, and Thistles.

The caterpillars were at one point eaten by Native Americans. After collection, they would be skewered and roasted for a feast, and any leftovers were stored whole or ground up after being dried.

ROLY POLY

Roly-Poly (Armadillidium Vulgare) also known as Pill-Bug, Pill Woodlouse, Doodle Bug or Carpenter, is a widespread European species of woodlouse in the family Armadillidiidae, and in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of other woodlouse families, members of this family can roll into a ball, an ability they share with the outwardly similar but unrelated pill millipedes and other animals. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species.

The Roly-Poly is able to withstand drier conditions than many other woodlouse species, and is restricted to calcareous soils or coastal areas. It feeds chiefly on decaying plant matter, but also grazes lichens and algae from tree bark and walls. It is able to regulate its temperature through its behavior, preferring bright sunshine when temperatures are low, but remaining in shadow when temperatures are high; temperatures below 28 °F or above 97 °F are lethal to it. It is less susceptible to cold during the night, and may enter a state of dormancy during the winter in order to survive temperatures that would otherwise be lethal.

The native distribution ranges across Europe, especially in the Mediterranean Basin. In the United Kingdom. It is very common in southern and eastern England, but is more confined to coastal areas in the north. Similarly, in Ireland, it is common in the south and east, but rarer in the north and west. It has also been introduced to many locations in North America. It is now one of the most abundant invertebrate species in California coastal grassland habitats. It has also been introduced, to a lesser extent, to sites across the world.

Because of their unusual yet non-threatening appearance, the Roly-Poly is sometimes kept as pets in areas throughout the U.S., typically among children. Among adults, they are often seen as unwanted (but essentially harmless) home pests. Keeping a pet Roly-Poly requires a very moist habitat with limited light and lots of decaying plant matter. They can often live up to three years.

TRUE BUG: APHID

Aphids, also known as Plant Lice, are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea, and from the True Bug order Hemiptera. Other common names include Greenfly and Blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. Aphids are distributed worldwide, but are most common in temperate zones. About 4,400 species are known. Around 250 species are serious pests for agriculture and forestry as well as an annoyance for gardeners.

Aphids are tiny and often nearly invisible to the naked eye. Adults are under a quarter inch. Various species can appear white, black, brown, gray, yellow, light green, or pink. Some may have a waxy or woolly coating.

They have pear-shaped bodies with long antennae. They are capable of extremely rapid increase in numbers by asexual reproduction. The nymphs look similar to adults.

Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions. The damage they do to plants has made them enemies of farmers and gardeners around the world. Plants exhibiting Aphid damage can have a variety of symptoms, such as decreased growth rates, mottled leaves, yellowing, stunted growth, curled leaves, browning, wilting, low yields and death. The removal of sap creates a lack of vigor in the plant, and Aphid saliva is toxic to plants. They act as vectors for plant viruses and disfigure ornamental plants with deposits of honeydew and the subsequent growth of sooty mold. Aphids contributed to the spread of potato blight (Phytophthora Infestans) among potatoes in the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s.

Companion planting can be very helpful to keep Aphids away from your plants. Aphids are repelled by Catnip.

Aphids are especially attracted to Mustard and Nasturtium. Plant these near more valuable plants as traps for the Aphids. Nasturtiums spoil the taste of fruit tree sap for Aphids and will help keep Aphids off of Broccoli.

Garlic and Chives repel Aphids when planted near Lettuce, Peas, and Rose Bushes. Natural enemies include Ladybugs, Hoverfly Larvae, Parasitic Wasps, Aphid Midge Larvae, Crab Spiders, and Lacewings.

TRUE BUG: BEE ASSASSIN BUG

Bee Assassin Bug (Apiomerus Spissipes) is a species of Assassin Bug belonging to the family Reduviidae, and from the True Bug order Hemiptera. They are found throughout the United States and south through Mexico and into Central America.

The common name ‘Bee Assassins’ derives from their frequent habit of sitting and waiting upon flowers, stalking stingless bees, flies, and other pollinating insects as prey. The bees will be "assassinated" when the Bee Assassin thrusts its straw-like sucking proboscis into the bee's body and begins feeding. The Bee Assassin kills the prey quickly, usually within a few seconds.

Bee Assassins are black, red and off-white markings on the sides of the abdomen, and are about 3/4 in long.

The bright colors are a warning to larger predators that a painful bite can be delivered. Bee Assassins have an oval-shaped abdominal area with wings that overlap, creating an “X” shape on their back. The front legs are thicker than the hind legs and are more powerful as well as stronger for catching and holding onto prey.

The Bee Assassin has a sticky resin pad located on its dorsal abdomen. The resin is thought to be derived from plant material and is applied as a defensive chemical that plays a role in defending eggs from predation, especially by ants and other species. The sticky resin also aids in prey capture.

Bee Assassins certainly do kill bees who we like to see pollinating our plants, but studies show that they kill other insects, too, often insects that damage our plants. Therefore, it's unclear whether Bee Assassins do more harm or good in our gardens and cultivated fields.

TRUE BUG: FALSE CHINCH BUG

False Chinch Bug (Nysius Raphanus) is a small species of plant-feeding insect in the Seed Bug family Lygaeidae, and from the True Bug order Hemiptera. This insect can be found across North America, from northern Canada to southern Mexico. The adults are 1/8 inch and brownish-gray in color, with largely transparent silvery-gray wings, and can release an offensive odor similar to Stink Bugs.

False Chinch Bugs fly to their food sources, sometimes miles apart. They pierce plant stems and drink the juices from young plants, depriving it of food and water. They prefer to eat Alfalfa, Radish Leaves, and Mustard Greens, but they will move to other field crops like Potatoes, Sugar Beets and Grains once their first food source has been harvested. Wild hosts include Mustards, Kochia, Russian Thistle, and Sagebrush. Heavy populations build up in these hosts. They also return to fields that have recovered in order to feed again, making it difficult to starve them out of an area. Seedlings might die, but older plants can survive the feedings.

The damage from feeding takes days to few weeks to appear and can include things like leaf wilting, leaf curling or the appearance of leaf burn.

False Chinch Bugs overwinter as nymphs and adults under debris near winter annuals especially host plant Mustards. Eggs are laid in loose soils or in soil cracks. They hatch in four days. Nymphs feed for about three weeks and reach adulthood. Adults live for several weeks congregating on hosts. There are three or four generations per season with peak populations in July and early August. During particularly cool springs that have had a lot of rain, a population can swell to alarming sizes. They overwinter in both life stages. Adults prefer cooler temperatures and are seen on leaves during late evening and in the early morning. During higher daytime temperatures, they crawl on the ground under the canopy and into the soil.

False Chinch Bugs are not dangerous to people; they don't bite or destroy interior dwellings.

TRUE BUG: HARLEQUIN BUG

Harlequin Bug (Murgantia Histrionica), also known as Calico Bug, Fire Bug or Harlequin Cabbage Bug, is a Shield Bug or Stink Bug of the family Pentatomidae, and from the True Bug order Hemiptera. It is a major pest of cabbage and related crops in the Brassicaceae family, throughout tropical and southern North America, including the warmer parts of the United States.

Harlequin Bugs destroy plant tissue by sucking out the sap from leaves and stems of plants such as Cabbage, Arugula, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chard, Collards, Kale, Mustard, Radish, Horseradish, Turnip, and Rapeseed.

Many other crops may be affected, including Asparagus, Bean, Cantaloupe, Onion, Pea, Potato, Squash, and Tomato, as well as Grape, Peach, Pear, and Raspberry. They're also very partial to Cleome, an annual flower.

Adults overwinter in sheltered locations in or near gardens, including winter crops and organic debris. In spring, adults emerge and deposit their eggs. There can be up to three generations per year in Colorado.

Harlequin Bugs reproduce rapidly and females mate multiple times with many males before laying up to 150 eggs per female. The eggs are tiny white barrels encircled by black bands with a black crescent on top. Laid in small clusters arranged in rows of six on leaf undersides. The nymphs are rounded and black, with pale green markings which soon turn brilliant red and yellow and go through five instars (growth stages). Adults have a shield-shaped body, up to 3/8" long, brightly colored, typically black and yellow to black and red. Their color patterns vary with the season.

The most effective way of preventing Harlequin Bugs is to use a floating row cover. Using a floating cover keeps these insects from ever reaching your plants as long as it’s secured to the soil around the plants thoroughly. But once you have them, you need to be proactive in eradicating them from your garden. Handpick insects out of the garden, remove eggs from the underside of leaves, and drown them in a bucket of warm soapy water.

TRUE BUG: SQUASH BUG

Squash Bug (Anasa Tristis) is a species of plant-feeding insect in the family Coreidae, and from the True Bug order Hemiptera. It is a major pest of Squash and Pumpkins, and is a vector of the cucurbit yellow vine disease, which can kill the plants. They are sometimes mistakenly called Stink Bugs because they may give off a foul odor when squashed. Stink Bugs have wider shield-shaped bodies than Squash Bugs.

Squash Bugs destroy plant tissue by sucking out the sap from leaves and stems and depleting nutrients on all cucurbits plants such as Cucumbers, Muskmelons, Pumpkins, Squash, and Watermelon. Squash and Pumpkins are the most susceptible to Squash Bug attack. This feeding causes leaves to wilt and dry out. They eventually turn black and fall off the vine. Adult pests can be seen feeding on main stems. Nymphs are more likely to be found feeding on the undersides of leaves.

Adults overwinter in sheltered locations in or near gardens, including winter crops and organic debris. In spring, adults emerge and deposit their eggs. There is only one generation per year.

In the spring when plants begin to develop runners, females lay elliptical shaped orange or brown eggs in groups on the undersides of the leaves. The eggs hatch after seven to nine days into nymphs which have five instars (growth stages). The first instar nymphs are green and black or red and about 0.1 inch in length.

Each successive instar is larger and less hairy and more grey colored. The fifth instar is grey, with developing wing pads. Adults are grayish-brown to black, flat-backed, and 1/2 to 3/4 inch long.

The most effective way of preventing Squash Bugs is to use a floating row cover. Using a floating cover keeps these insects from ever reaching your plants as long as it’s secured to the soil around the plants thoroughly.

But once you have them, you need to be proactive in eradicating them from your garden. Handpick insects out of the garden, remove eggs from the underside of leaves, and drown them in a bucket of warm soapy water.

TRUE BUG: TARNISHED PLANT BUG

Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus Llineolaris) is a species of plant-feeding insect in the family Miridae, and from the True Bug order Hemiptera. This insect can be found across North America, from northern Canada to southern Mexico. It is most commonly found in the eastern half of North America. It is among the most damaging of the True Bugs and is known to transmit plant diseases.

Tarnished Plant Bugs destroy plant tissue by sucking out the sap from leaves and stems of plants such as Alfalfa, Apples, Carrots, Cherries, Cotton, Lima Beans, Lychees, Mangoes, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Snap Beans, Soybeans, Strawberries, Tomatoes. Many other crops may be affected, including Artichoke, Asparagus, Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery, Chard, Coriander, Corn, Cowpea, Cucumber, Eggplant, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Fennel, Horseradish, Lettuce, Mustard, Onion, Parsnip, Parsley, Pea, Pepper, Potato, Radish, Spinach, Squash, Sweet Potato, Turnip and Watermelon. Flower hosts include Asters, Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, Impatiens, and Marigolds. Tree hosts include Conifer, Fir, Pine and Spruce.

Adults overwinter in sheltered locations in or near gardens, including winter crops and organic debris. In spring, adults emerge and deposit their eggs. In the northern range there are two to three generations per year.

The females insert their eggs directly into the plant tissues at the base of the leaf blade. The eggs are small, truncate and slightly curved. The top of the egg where it meets the surface of the plant tissue is flattened and has an opening through which the hatchling nymph emerges. The eggs are deposited singly and hatch in ten to twenty-one days. The nymphs develop through five instars (growth stages) in three to four weeks. Nymphs are yellowish green to green and wingless and are often mistaken for Aphids. As they mature the nymphs develop black spots and grow wingpads. Adults grow up to a half inch in length, and are brown with accents of yellow, orange or red, with a light-colored "V" or heart-shape on the back. .

TRUE BUG: WHITEFLY

Whiteflies are small Hemipterans or "True Bugs" that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than 1550 species have been described.

Whiteflies are very small insects, most species with a wingspan of less than 3 mm and a body length of 1 mm to 2mm. Many are so small that their size complicates their control in greenhouses because they can only be excluded by screening with very fine mesh; in fact they can enter mesh so fine that many of their natural enemies cannot come in after them, so that unchecked Whitefly populations in greenhouses rapidly become overwhelming.

Whiteflies feed by tapping into the phloem of plants, introducing toxic saliva and decreasing the plants' overall turgor pressure. Since Whiteflies congregate in large numbers, susceptible plants can be quickly overwhelmed.

Further harm is done by mold growth encouraged by the honeydew Whiteflies secrete.

Biological methods have also been proposed to control Whitefly infestation, and may be paired with chemical methods. Washing the plant, especially the undersides of leaves, may help reduce the number of the pests on the plants and make their management by other methods more effective. Whiteflies are also attracted by the color yellow, so yellow sticky paper can serve as traps to monitor infestations. Dead leaves or leaves that have been mostly eaten by Whiteflies can be removed and burned or carefully placed in closed bins to avoid reinfestation and spreading of the disease.

Several predators and parasitoids may be effective in controlling Whitefly infestations, including Green Lacewings, Ladybugs, Minute Pirate Bugs, Big-Eyed Bugs, Damsel Bugs, and Phytoseiid Mites. .

WASP: EUROPEAN PAPER WASP

European Paper Wasp (Polistes Dominula) is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus Polistes and of the Wasp family Vespidae. It is often referred to as the European Paper Wasp because of its native distribution and its nests, which are constructed from paper and saliva. It is considered an invasive species in Canada and the United States.

Before 1981, the European Paper Wasp was not recorded in North America. A highly successful colonizer, this wasp has rapidly increased its distribution in the United States during the past 20 years. While most wasp species in the United States feed only on caterpillars, the European Paper Wasp eats many different types of insects giving it superior survival value over other wasp species during a shortage of resources. It also nests in areas with better protection, so is able to avoid predation that has affected many other wasp species.

It is frequently mistaken for a Yellowjacket. Smaller than the native Northern Paper Wasp, the European Paper Wasp is yellow and black, resembling the pattern (especially on the abdomen) of the Yellowjackets in the genus Vespula. As in all Paper Wasps, the “waist� is very thin. During flight, the hind pair of legs trail below in an extended fashion.

It generally lives in temperate, terrestrial habitats such as chaparral, forest, and grassland biomes. They also have the propensity to colonize nearby human civilizations because man-made structures can act as great shelters and also are located close to the resources such as food. It is a concern for cherry and grape growers, as it injures the fruit by biting off the skin. It also spreads yeast and fungi that harm fruit and can be a nuisance to workers and pickers at harvest.

Unlike most social insects, 35% of these wasps in a colony are unrelated. The nest is the characteristic umbrella shape, and the open cells can be seen from below. Cream-colored larvae are legless and remain within their cells until they emerge as adult wasps.

WASP: PRAIRIE YELLOWJACKET

Prairie Yellowjacket (Vespula Atropilosa) is a species of wasp in the genus Vespula and of the Wasp family Vespidae. This species derives its common name from the prairies and grasslands where it can be found, primarily in western and midwestern United States as well as parts of southern Canada.

Yellowjacket is the name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps". They may be confused with other wasps, such as hornets and paper wasps.

The Prairie Yellowjacket shares the basic yellow and black pattern with other species of social wasps.

Adult workers catch a wide range of prey, most commonly Aphids, Cicadas, Leafhoppers, Moths, Butterflies, and Flies. It is not a scavenger like other wasps.

Prairie Yellowjackets are not considered pests. Colonies are often found in dry yards, but workers do not usually pose a threat to humans unless the colony is disturbed. Since Prairie Yellowjackets are predators of other insects, they have the benefit of getting rid of local pests.

Nests are made of envelope paper which is strong and flexible. Fiber strips are positioned in a horizontal pattern. A variety of fiber sources are used and results in different colored strips of paper. The two primary sources of fibers are weathered wood and scraps from non-woody plants. Nests are typically subterranean and found in open areas such as dry fields and pastures located on both flat and sloped terrain. Most nests are settled in pre-existing rodent burrows. They often continue to excavate unused rodent tunnels in order to expand the nest. Nests are located relatively close to the ground surface, ranging from one to nine inches below the soil surface.

WASP: WESTERN YELLOWJACKET

Western Yellowjacket (Vespula Pensylvanica) is a species of wasp in the genus Vespula and of the Wasp family Vespidae. It is native to regions of North America, largely in areas with northern temperate climates.

Yellowjacket is the name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps". They may be confused with other wasps, such as hornets and paper wasps.

The Western Yellowjacket shares the basic yellow and black pattern with other species of social wasps. It can usually be differentiated by the continuous yellow ring present around each eye.

Their diet is very broad. Food is obtained through both predation and scavenging. Adult workers are opportunistic predators and often return to areas of abundant prey to forage. The main foods obtained are high-protein foods such as small insects, caterpillars, and spiders. In addition, it occasionally scavenges on dead animals, including dead honeybees.

The Western Yellowjacket is often a pest to humans. Concentrated garbage has become an alternative food supply, and colonies have emerged in and around areas of human impact, such as recreational parks and resorts. Though they tend not to sting unless provoked, they nonetheless violently protect their nests and can sting repeatedly.

Western Yellowjackets build large nests made of wood fibers, enclosed in a hexagonal paper envelope with a small entrance tunnel at the bottom. Nests are usually found four to nine inches below ground or in other dark cavities, such as rodent burrows. Its reproductive behavior is constrained by cold weather, which successfully reduces the number of Western Yellowjackets in cold months. The Western Yellowjacket has become particularly invasive in the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in their label as a major pest.

BLACK MEDICK

Black Medick or Hop Clover (Medicago Lupulina) is a familiar lawn plant belonging to the clover family.

Plants of the genus Medicago, are closely related to the true clovers (Trifolium) and sweet clovers (Melilotus).

Black Medick belongs to the same genus as alfalfa. A native of the old world, Black Medick is found throughout Europe, northern Africa, the near east, and most of Asia, including India, China, and Korea. It is naturalized in central Asia, Japan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and much of South America.

It is an annual or short-lived perennial plant, growing each year from buds on the roots and from seed. Mature plants measure up to 32 inches in height, with fine stems often lying flat at the beginning of growth and later erecting. The leaves are compound, each with three oval leaflets, carried on a short petiole; the center leaflet usually has a longer petiole. The leaflets are hairy, toothed toward the tip. Black Medick has small yellow flowers, often grouped in tight bunches. Like other clovers, Black Medick fixes nitrogen in the soil.

BORAGE

Borage (Borago Officinalis) also known as Starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily remaining in the garden from year to year by self-seeding.

Borage grows to a height of 2–3 feet, and is bristly or hairy all over the stems and leaves. The leaves are alternate, simple, and 2–6 inches long. The flowers are complete, perfect with five narrow, triangular-pointed petals. Flowers are most often blue, although pink flowers are sometimes observed. White flowered types are also cultivated, but the blue flower is genetically dominant over the white flower. The flowers arise along scorpioid cymes to form large floral displays with multiple flowers blooming simultaneously, suggesting that Borage has a high degree of intra-plant pollination.

The leaves are edible and the plant is grown in gardens for that purpose in some parts of Europe. Borage is used as either a fresh vegetable or a dried herb. As a fresh vegetable, Borage, with a cucumber-like taste, is often used in salads or as a garnish. The flower has a sweet honey-like taste and is often used to decorate desserts and cocktails. The plant is also commercially cultivated for Borage seed oil extracted from its seeds. It should be noted that the leaves contain small amounts (2-10 ppm of dried herb) of the liver-toxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PA) Intermedine, Lycopsamine, Amabiline and Supinine, some of which are hepatotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic.

Borage is used in companion planting. It is said to protect or nurse legumes, spinach, brassicas, and even strawberries. It is also said to be a good companion plant to tomatoes because it confuses the mother moths of tomato hornworms or manduca looking for a place to lay their eggs. Claims that it improves tomato growth and makes them taste better remain unsubstantiated.

BROADLEAF PLANTAIN

Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago Major) is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. The plant is native to most of Europe and northern and central Asia, but has widely naturalized elsewhere in the world.

Each leaf is oval-shaped and broad, with an acute apex and a smooth margin; there are five to nine conspicuous veins. The flowers are small, greenish-brown with purple stamens, produced in a dense spike on top of a stem. It is wind-pollinated, and propagates primarily by seeds, which are held on the long, narrow spikes which rise well above the foliage. Each plant can produce up to 20,000 seeds, which are very small and oval-shaped, with a bitter taste.

It grows in lawns and fields, along roadsides, and in other areas that have been disturbed by humans.

Reportedly brought to the Americas by Puritan colonizers, it was known among some Native American peoples by the common name "white man's footprint", because it thrived in the disturbed and damaged ecosystems surrounding European settlements. The ability of plantain to survive frequent trampling and colonize compacted soils makes it important for soil rehabilitation. Its roots break up hardpan surfaces, while simultaneously holding together the soil to prevent erosion.

Broadleaf Plantain is one of the most abundant and widely distributed medicinal crops in the world. A poultice of the leaves can be applied to wounds, stings, and sores in order to facilitate healing and prevent infection.

Plantain has astringent properties, and a tea made from the leaves can be ingested to treat diarrhea and soothe raw internal membranes. It is also a highly nutritious wild edible that is high in calcium and vitamins A, C, and K. The young, tender leaves can be eaten raw, and the older, stringier leaves can be boiled in stews and eaten.

CANADA THISTLE

Canada Thistle or Canadian Thistle (Cirsium Arvense) is a species of Cirsium. It is native throughout Europe and northern Asia, and widely introduced elsewhere. Despite being a misleading designation, it is not of Canadian origin. The standard English name in its native area is “Creeping Thistle”. It is also a serious invasive species in many additional regions where it has been introduced. It is a Colorado List B noxious weed.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing 12-40 inches, forming extensive clonal colonies from rhizomes that send up numerous erect stems each spring, reaching 40-48 inches tall or more. Stems are green smooth and glabrous mostly without spiny wings. The leaves are very spiny, lobed, up to 6-8 inches long and over an inch broad (smaller on the upper part of the flower stem). The “creeping” root system consists of four types of structures, 1) long thick horizontal roots up to 20’ deep, 2) long thick vertical roots up to a 20’ spread, 3) short fine shoots, and 4) vertical underground stems. Average seed production per plant has been estimated to 1530. More seeds are produced when male and female plants are closer together as flowers are primarily insect-pollinated. Seeds can survive in soil for up to 20 years.

Control methods include cutting at flower stem extension before the flower buds open to prevent seed spread.

Repeated cutting at the same growth stage over several years may "wear down" the plant.

CLARY SAGE

Clary Sage (Salvia Sclarea) is a biennial or short-lived herbaceous perennial in the genus Salvia. It is native to the northern Mediterranean Basin, along with some areas in northern Africa and central Asia. The plant has a lengthy history as a medicinal herb, and is currently grown for its essential oil.

Clary Sage reaches 3 to 4 ft in height, with thick square stems that are covered in hairs. The leaves are approximately 12 inches long at the base, 6 inches long higher on the plant. The upper leaf surface is wrinkled, and covered with glandular hairs. The flowers are in verticils, with 2-6 flowers in each verticil, and are held in large colorful bracts that range in color from pale mauve to lilac or white to pink with a pink mark on the edge.

The lilac or pale blue corolla is approximately 1 inch with the lips held wide open. A variation called ‘Turkestanica’ is a 3-foot tall version with longer flower bracts and a more pronounced blue color. The cultivar ‘Vatican’ is a white flowering Clary Sage with the same cultivation requirements as the parent herb.

Clary Sage is deer resistant, which makes it ideal for the naturalized or meadow garden. The herb requires a chilling period of at least three months to produce flowers and is not a good performer in hot climates for this reason. It attracts honeybees and other pollinators to the garden.

Both the leaves and flowers are used in flavoring and teas as well as aromatherapy applications. The distilled essential oil is used widely in perfumes and as a muscatel flavoring for vermouths, wines, and liqueurs.

Clary seeds have a mucilaginous coat, which is why some old herbals recommended placing a seed into the eye of someone with a foreign object in it so that it could adhere to the object and make it easy to remove. This practice is noted by Nicholas Culpeper in his Complete Herbal (1653), who referred to the plant as "clear-eye".

Descriptions of medicinal use of the plant goes back to the writings of Theophrastus (4th century BCE), Dioscorides (1st century CE), and Pliny the Elder (1st century CE).

COMMON KNOTWEED

Common Knotweed (Polygonum Aviculare) also called Prostrate Knotweed, Knotgrass, Birdweed, and Matgrass is an annual plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae. This plant is related to buckwheat and dock. It is widespread across many countries in temperate regions, apparently native to Eurasia and North America, naturalized in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

Common Knotweed is a prostrate plant with numerous slender, wiry stems that are highly branched and form mats. The extensive branching gives it a zigzag appearance. Stems are round in cross-section and can reach up to 4 feet long, and have longitudinal ribs that are often slightly swollen at the joints (nodes). Leaves are linear to narrowly oblong shaped, hairless, stalkless, and are alternate to one another along the stem, and are up to one inch long.

Common Knotweed germinates at or near the soil surface in early spring as soon as there is enough moisture, and grows in an upright position before it spreads out like a mat. If mowed, it will still spread and can form a mat as wide as 3 to 4 ft in diameter. The seedlings, which grow low to the ground, survive mowing and are not disturbed when stepped on by people and animals.

Common Knotweed is found on roadsides, fields, agronomic croplands, orchards, vineyards, yards, turf, gardens, landscaped areas, nursery grounds, paths, walkways, and disturbed, unmanaged places.

Common Knotweed seeds serve as forage for songbirds and small animals.

Many gardeners confuse Spotted Spurge with Knotweed. Identification is easy when you remember the spurge exudes a milky substance when broken and Knotweed does not.

COMMON MALLOW

Common Mallow (Malva Neglecta) is an annual growing to 24 inches. Although often considered a weed, this plant is often consumed as a food. This is especially true of the seeds, which contain 21% protein and 15.2% fat. The plant is an invasive species in the United States.

It is a low-growing, spreading annual, biennial or perennial, depending on conditions. Plants grow 4 - 24 inches tall on slightly hairy stems. The leaves are 1/2 -1 1/2 inches across, somewhat hairy, and are borne at the end of long stalks that are arranged alternately along the stems. Mature leaves are circular with wavy margins and five to seven shallow lobes and have a crinkled appearance. Flowers form singly or in clusters in leaf axils. The five-petalled flowers are pale pink or purple to white, funnel-shaped, and are 1/2 -1 inch wide when fully open.

Flowers are subtended by five sepals, which are inconspicuously covered in soft hairs.

Common Mallow develops a deep, thick taproot, which allows it to survive harsh conditions— including frigid temperatures and dry soil— and regenerate when necessary. It reproduces by seed, and though mallow seeds have a low germination rate, they can remain viable in the soil for decades.

Common Mallow seeds will germinate throughout the growing season, and seedlings emerge from mid-spring to early autumn when adequate moisture is available. Flower and fruit production can take place from early summer to mid-fall. Mature plants are very hardy and often remain green throughout the winter.

The leaves, stems and immature seeds of Common Mallow can be eaten raw or cooked, and are quite high in vitamins and minerals. When growing in nitrogen-rich soil, however, nitrates can accumulate in the plant’s tissues, making it toxic to some animals. Native people have used Common Mallow for various medicinal reasons, including as an astringent, an anti-inflammatory agent, and an emetic.

CURLY DOCK

Curly Dock (Rumex Crispus), also known as Curled Dock or Yellow Dock, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. It is widely naturalized throughout the temperate world and has become a serious invasive species in many areas, including throughout North America, southern South America, New Zealand and parts of Australia.

Curly dock grows in a wide variety of habitats, including disturbed soil, waste areas, roadsides, railways, fields/meadows, shorelines, and forest edges. It spreads through the seeds contaminating crop seeds, and sticking to clothing.

The plant produces an inflorescence or flower stalk that grows to about 3 feet high. It has smooth leaves shooting off from a large basal rosette, with distinctive waved or curled edges. On the stalk flowers and seeds are produced in clusters on branched stems, with the largest cluster being found at the apex. The seeds are shiny, brown and encased in the calyx of the flower that produced them. This casing enables the seeds to float on water and get caught in wool and animal fur, and this helps the seeds to spread to new locations. The rootstructure is a large, yellow, forking taproot.

It can be used as a wild leaf vegetable; the young leaves should be boiled in several changes of water to remove as much of the oxalic acid in the leaves as possible or can be added directly to salads in moderate amounts. The leaves are somewhat tart due to the presence of high levels of oxalic acid, and although quite palatable, this plant should only be consumed in moderation as it can irritate the urinary tract and increase the risk of developing kidney stones. It should be used with care during lactation, as it may cause a laxative effect in the infant. Once the plant matures it becomes too bitter to consume. The leaves are an excellent source of both vitamin A and vitamin C, as well as a source of iron and potassium. In Western herbalism, the root is often used for treating anemia and for nourishing the spleen, due to its high level of iron. The plant will help with skin conditions if taken internally or applied externally to things like itching, scrofula, and sores.

CUTLEAF NIGHTSHADE

Cutleaf Nightshade (Solanum Triflorum), also known as Small Nightshade, is a species in the family Solanaceae (the Nightshade family). It is native to Argentina, but it is known on other continents, including Europe and Australia, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It is present throughout much of North America, where it is possibly non-native as well. About 1,500 Solanum species exist in the world, and they include some of the most common garden plants such as potato and eggplant and are also related to the tomato.

It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. It is an annual herb producing spreading stems up to 40 inches long lying along the ground with the extremity curving upward. The stem is hairy and the hairs are sometimes associated with glands. The leaves are a few inches long and are deeply cut into tooth-like lobes similar to an oak tree leaf. The inflorescence bears up to three flowers each just under a half inch wide when fully open. The flower is usually white, but is occasionally purple-tinged. The fruit is a berry roughly a half inch wide.

The leaves and berries of nightshades contain a poisonous alkaloid, solanine, and although the toxic quality of the fruit seems to decrease with ripening, it is inadvisable to eat any plant parts at any time.

DANDELION

Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, and was originally imported to America as a food crop. It is now naturalized throughout North America, southern Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia, and India. It occurs in all 50 states of the USA and most Canadian provinces. It is considered a noxious weed in some jurisdictions, and is considered to be a nuisance in residential and recreational lawns in North America. The common name Dandelion is from French dent-de-lion, meaning "lion's tooth�.

It grows from generally unbranched taproots and produces one to more than ten stems. The stems can be tinted purplish, they are upright or lax, and produce flower heads that are held as tall as or taller than the foliage. The foliage may be upright-growing or horizontally spreading; the leaves have petioles that are either unwinged or narrowly winged. The leaves are oblanceolate, oblong, or obovate in shape, with the bases gradually narrowing to the petiole. The leaf margins are typically shallowly lobed to deeply lobed and often lacerate or toothed with sharp or dull teeth. It produces seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.

Dandelions are thought to have evolved about 30 million years ago in Eurasia. They have been used by humans for food and as an herb for much of recorded history. Dandelion leaves contain abundant vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C and K, and are a good source of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese.

Dandelion has been used in herbal medicine to treat infections, bile and liver problems, and as a diuretic.

The dandelion plant is a beneficial weed, with a wide range of uses, and is even a good companion plant for gardening. Its taproot will bring up nutrients for shallower-rooting plants, and add minerals and nitrogen to soil.

It is also known to attract pollinating insects and release ethylene gas which helps fruit to ripen.

FETID MARIGOLD

Fetid Marigold or Prairie Dogweed (Dyssodia Papposa) is a small flowering plant in the daisy family. It is native throughout much of the United States. It is also native to Mexico and into South America.

Leaves are mostly opposite and may be alternate in the upper plant, ž to 2 inches long and deeply divided into linear lobes, which may be further divided, lobed, or with a few coarse teeth around the edges. Leaves are hairless to sparsely hairy. Orange-brownish glands dot the foliage which has a spicy pungent odor when crushed. Stems are mostly erect with diffuse branching, finely hairy to nearly smooth throughout. Flowers are short-stalked, arising singly from leaf axils and at the tips of branches but numerous on a plant, egg to bell shaped, up to ½ inch long with up to 8 short, deep yellow rays (petals), It flowers in late summer to fall.

Fetid Marigold is considered a weed because it has an odor which is unpleasant to some people. Often the plant must be crushed to experience the odor which is produced from oils in the plant. The oils and resins in the plant can irritate nose membranes, so livestock avoid it.

It is found in open, disturbed areas, waste ground, fields, pastures, farmyards, and roadsides. It grows most abundantly in rocky soils and is often found in prairie dog towns.

FIELD BINDWEED

Field Bindweed (Convolvulus Arvensis) is a species of bindweed in the morning glory family Convolvulaceae, native to Europe and Asia. It is a vining, climbing or creeping herbaceous perennial plant that can grow from seeds, roots, or rhizomes. A single plant can create a 10-20’ radiating spread in one season. It is a Colorado List C noxious weed.

The leaves are spirally arranged, linear to arrowhead-shaped, and alternate, with a petiole. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, white or pale pink, with five slightly darker pink radial stripes. Flowering occurs in the midsummer, when white to pale pink, funnel-shaped flowers develop. Flowers are approximately 0.75-1 inch across and are subtended by small bracts and only last for one day.

Although it produces attractive flowers, it is often unwelcome in gardens as a nuisance weed due to its rapid growth and choking of cultivated plants. It is difficult to eradicate because the seeds remain viable in soil for up to 60 years. One plant can produce up to 550 seeds. The deep, extensive root system stores carbohydrates and proteins and allows it to sprout repeatedly from fragments and rhizomes following removal of aboveground growth. The root system is both vertical and horizontal. Vertical roots can reach 20-30’ and horizontal roots are found in the top 2’ of soil. The horizontal roots will eventually turn and move vertically. Food reserves in the roots allow the plant to survive underground for more than 3 years without replenishment.

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FLIXWEED

Flixweed (Descurainia Sophia) is a member of the mustard family and is also known as Herb-Sophia and Tansy Mustard. It is an annual or biennial, over-wintering, seed-propagated weed with a ramified taproot. It is native to Eurasia, but has naturalized in North America, where it is widespread and found in varied habitats. It is especially successful in deserts. It is a hardy plant which easily becomes weedy, and can spring up in disturbed, barren sites with bad soil.

Its stem is erect, branched, and 4–30 inches high. The upper stems terminate in racemes of flowers about 212" in length. The small yellow flowers bloom in whorls at the apex of each raceme, while the siliques (slender seedpods) develop below. Each flower spans about 1/8" (3 mm.) across, consisting of 4 pale yellow petals, 4 green sepals, 6 stamens with yellow anthers, and a pistil with a stout style. The petals are about the same length as the sepals; they are both oblong-lanceolate. The blooming period occurs from mid- to late spring and lasts about 2 months. There is no noticeable floral scent. Below the flowers are the cylindrical siliques that are about 1 inch long. Each of these siliques contain a single row of tiny seeds. The siliques angle upward from their pedicels and are more ascending. The tiny seeds are somewhat flattened, oblongoid or ovoid, and some shade orange-brown. They are small enough to be blown about by the wind. The root system consists of a stout taproot. This plant spreads by reseeding itself and often forms loose colonies.

Flixweed is toxic to grazing animals in large quantities due to nitrates and thiocyanates. The flowers are attractive to butterflies and other insects.

It was once given to patients suffering from dysentery and called by ancient herbalists Sophia Chirurgorum, "The Wisdom of Surgeons". The seeds are said to taste somewhat like black mustard and were utilized as food

by Native American peoples such as the Navajo. In Iran, the seeds are called khak-e shir (khakshir), and khake shir drinks are mostly known as thirst quencher during hot summer days.

FLOWER-OF-AN-HOUR

Flower-Of-An-Hour (Hibiscus Trionum), also commonly called Flower-Of-The-Hour, Bladder Hibiscus, Bladder Weed, and Venice Rose Mallow, is an annual plant native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. It has spread throughout southern Europe both as a weed and cultivated as a garden plant. It has been introduced to the United States as an ornamental where it has become naturalized as a weed of cropland and vacant land, particularly on disturbed ground.

This plant is a summer annual that develops into a sprawling vine up to 1' tall. The stems are up to 2' in length, branching occasionally; they are round and hairy. The alternate leaves are up to 3" long and 2" across (excluding the petioles). They are deeply divided into 3 primary lobes. Each of these primary lobes is shallowly lobed, sometimes with a few large blunt teeth along the margin. From the axils of the leaves, there develops single flowers from hairy stalks. Each flower is about 2" across, consisting of 5 rounded petals that are white or pale yellow, a large calyx that is divided into 5 segments, a pistil with a divided style, and numerous stamens with golden yellow anthers. Each petal is purple at the base. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer to early fall and lasts about 1-2 months. Each flower blooms during a single day that is sunny, and remains open for only a few hours. The oval seed capsule has 5 cells and is completed enclosed by the papery segments of the calyx. Each cell contains numerous seeds that are dull brown or grey, and kidney- or heart-shaped. The seeds can remain viable in the soil for several years, if not decades. The root system is fibrous. This plant spreads by reseeding itself.

GOATHEAD

Goathead or Puncture Vine (Tribulus Terrestris) is an annual plant in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, widely distributed around the world, that is adapted to grow in dry climate locations in which few other plants can survive. It is a Colorado List C noxious weed.

The stems radiate from the crown to a diameter of about 4 inches to over 3 feet, often branching. They are usually prostrate, forming flat patches, though they may grow more upwards in shade or among taller plants.

Stems branch from the crown and are densely hairy. Leaves are opposite and pinnately compound. Densely hairy leaflets are opposite and up to a quarter of an inch long.

The flowers are lemon-yellow, with 5 petals, 5 sepals, and 10 stamens. A week after each flower blooms, it is followed by a fruit that easily falls apart into 5 nutlets or burs. The nutlets are hard and bear 2-4 sharp spines.

These nutlets strikingly resemble goats' heads. The "horns" are sharp enough to puncture bicycle tires and they can also cause painful injury to bare feet.

GROUNDSEL

Groundsel (Senecio Vulgaris) is a flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe, northern Asia, and parts of North Africa and widely naturalized as a weed in suitable disturbed habitats worldwide.

It is an erect herbaceous annual growing up to 16 inches tall. The inflorescences usually lack ray florets, the yellow disc florets mostly hidden by the bracts giving the flowers an inconspicuous appearance. Leaves are pinnately lobed, smaller towards the top of the plant. Leaves are sparsely covered with soft, smooth, fine hairs. Lobes typically sharp to rounded saw-toothed. The root system consists of a shallow taproot. It is selfpollinating producing 1,700 seeds per plant with three generations per year and spreads by reseeding itself.

Groundsel acts as a host for the fungus that causes black root rot in peas, alfalfa, soybeans, carrots, tomatoes, red clover, peanuts, cucurbits, cotton, citrus, chickpeas, and several ornamental flowering plants.

As a plant that is reported to be both poisonous for human ingestion and also medicinal. All species of the genus Senecio contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, a substance that can cause irreversible liver damage.

HOE NIGHTSHADE

Hoe Nightshade (Solanum Physalifolium) is a species in the family Solanaceae (the Nightshade family).

Native to Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, it is widely naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, western Canada and the northern and western United States. About 1,500 Solanum species exist in the world, and they include some of the most common garden plants such as potato and eggplant and are also related to the tomato.

It is an annual herbaceous plant growing from a taproot and reaches a height of 4–35 inches. There are no leaves at the base of the stem. The leaves along the stem are egg-shaped to triangular. The leaf margins are variable and may be toothed, untoothed or wavy. Both the stems and leaves have soft hairs, often somewhat sticky. The tiny flowers are arranged in small clusters and have white petals, with lobes that are angled outwards or backwards. The sepals form a cup around the fruit, which is a shiny green globular berry turning to dark green to black-violet when ripe. Each fruit contains 15-25 brown seeds.

The leaves and berries of nightshades contain a poisonous alkaloid, solanine, and although the toxic quality of the fruit seems to decrease with ripening, it is inadvisable to eat any plant parts at any time.

HORSEWEED

Horseweed (Erigeron Canadensis synonym Conyza Canadensis), also known as Mare’s Tail and Canadian Fleabane, is an annual plant native throughout most of North America and Central America. It is also widely naturalized in Eurasia and Australia. It was introduced into Europe in the mid 17th century, likely along with Canadian furs shipped to France. It was the first weed to have developed glyphosate resistance.

Horseweed is an annual plant growing to 60 inches tall, with sparsely hairy stems. The leaves are unstalked and slender with a coarsely toothed margin. They grow in an alternate spiral up the stem and the lower ones wither early. The flowers are produced in dense inflorescences 0.4 inch diameter. Each individual flower has a ring of white or pale purple ray florets and a centre of yellow disc florets. The fruit is a cypsela tipped with dirty white down.

Horseweed is commonly considered a weed. It can be found in fields, meadows, and gardens throughout its native range. It is an especially problematic weed in no-till agriculture, as it is often resistant to glyphosate and other herbicides. Horseweed is a preferable material for use in the hand drill method of making friction fire.

LAMB'S QUARTERS

Lamb’s Quarters or White Goosefoot (Chenopodium Album) is a fast-growing weedy annual plant in the genus Chenopodium. It is sometimes also called pigweed; however, pigweed is also a name for a few weeds in the family Amaranthaceae. Its native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but includes most of Europe. Plants native in eastern Asia are included under Chenopodium Album, but often differ from European specimens. It is widely introduced elsewhere, e.g. Africa, Australasia, North America, and Oceania, and now occurs almost everywhere in soils rich in nitrogen, especially on wasteland.

Lamb’s Quarters tends to grow upright at first, reaching heights of 4-60 inches, but typically becomes recumbent after flowering (due to the weight of the foliage and seeds) unless supported by other plants. The leaves are alternate and can be varied in appearance. The first leaves, near the base of the plant, are toothed and roughly diamond-shaped 1-3 inches long and 1-2 inches broad. The leaves on the upper part of the flowering stems are entire and lanceolate-rhomboid. They are waxy-coated, unwettable and mealy in appearance, with a whitish coat on the underside. The small flowers are radially symmetrical and grow in small cymes on a dense branched inflorescence 4-16 inches long.

Lamb's Quarters is often dismissed as a mere weed, but it is an important source of food and cover to many kinds of insects and birds. It is extensively cultivated and consumed in Northern India as a food crop. The leaves and young shoots may be eaten as a leaf vegetable; either steamed in its entirety, or cooked like spinach, but should be eaten in moderation due to high levels of oxalic acid. Each plant produces tens of thousands of black seeds. These are high in protein, vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. Quinoa, a closely related species, is grown specifically for its seeds.

MILKWEED

Showy Milkweed (Asclepias Speciosa) is a milky-sapped perennial plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae.

This flowering plant is a hairy, erect perennial native to the western half of North America.

The large, pointed, elongate, simple, entire leaves are arranged oppositely on stalks up to 3 feet tall. It flowers from May through September. The eye-catching pale pinks through pinkish-purple flowers occur in dense umbellate cymes. Their corollas are reflexed and the central flower parts, five hoods with prominent hooks, form a star shape. The fruit is a large, rough follicle filled with many flat oval seeds, each with silky hairs.

One plant can form a large clump by its spreading rhizomes. It needs sun and it is quite drought tolerant. It tolerates alkaline soils and most gardens. It needs cross-pollination for fruit and seed development.

Native Americans used fiber in the stems for rope, basketry, and nets. Some Native Americans believed the milky sap had medicinal qualities; however, most species of milkweed are toxic.

The Showy Milkweed is a specific monarch butterfly food and habitat plant. The alkaloids associated with this milkweed and other milkweeds give the butterflies that feed on it protection from predators. Alkaloids from the wrong milkweed can expose the butterflies to predation. If the monarch or other butterfly has not evolved with the milkweed they may have limited tolerance for the particular alkaloid or latex of the plant species.

NARROWLEAF PLANTAIN

Narrowleaf Plantain (Plantago Lanceolata) is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Eurasia, but has been introduced to North America and many other parts of the world with suitable habitats. It is a common weed of cultivated land.

Found in British Isles, scarce on acidic soils (pH < 4.5). It is considered an invasive weed in North America. It is present and widespread in the Americas and Australia as an introduced species.

The plant is a rosette-forming perennial herb, with leafless, silky, hairy flower stems 3.9â&#x20AC;&#x201C;15.7 inches. The basal leaves are lanceolate spreading or erect, scarcely toothed with 3-5 strong parallel veins narrowed to short petiole. Grouping leaf stalk deeply furrowed, ending in an ovoid inflorescence of many small flowers each with a pointed bract. Each flower can produce up to two seeds.

It is used frequently in herbal teas and other herbal remedies. A tea from the leaves is used as a highly effective cough medicine. The leaves have been used internally (as syrup or tea) or externally (fresh leaves) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, insect bites, and infections. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great all-round blood purifier and tonic which, like its sibling broadleaf plantain, is unsurpassed for dealing with menopause, lung problems and bed-wetting as well as skin, bladder and kidney disorders.

PERSIAN SPEEDWELL

Persian Speedwell (Veronica Persica) also known as Birdeye/Bird's-Eye Speedwell, Common Field Speedwell, Large Field Speedwell, or Winter Speedwell. It is an annual or winter annual flowering herb plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Eurasia and is widespread as an introduced species in the British Isles, North America, and eastern Asia, including Japan and China.

Solitary flowers develop from the axils of the upper leaves. Each flower is about 1/3" across, consisting of a corolla with 4 petal-like lobes and a calyx with 4 prominent teeth. The corolla is blue-violet, becoming white toward the center; it has dark blue-violet lines that radiate from the center of the flower. The pedicels of the flowers are about 1/2 to 3/4" in length. The blooming period typically occurs from mid-spring to early summer and lasts about 1-2 months. Plants tend to fade away during the heat of the summer. Each flower is replaced by a 2-celled seed capsule that is flattened and slightly heart-shaped; the seed capsule is more wide than tall, about 1/3" across and 1/4" tall. Each cell of the seed capsule contains several small seeds. Individual seeds are ovoid in shape, but strongly concave on one side. The root system consists of a mass of slender fibrous roots. This plant reproduces by reseeding itself, and sometimes forms colonies.

Persian Speedwell prefers partial to full sun, moist conditions, and a rich loamy soil. However, it will adapt to rocky and other kinds of poor soil. Most vegetative growth and development occurs during the cool weather of spring, when moisture amounts are higher than average.

The flowers attract small bees and various flies. The foliage is not known to be toxic and is probably eaten by various mammalian herbivores, particularly rabbits.

Although many species in the genus are used in gardens, this species is generally seen as a weed and has no known horticultural uses.

PRICKLY LETTUCE

Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca Serriola) is an annual or biennial plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family. It has a slightly fetid odor and is commonly considered a weed of orchards, roadsides and field crops. It is the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce. It is also known as the compass plant because in the Sun the upper leaves twist round to hold their margins upright. It is native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, and has become naturalized elsewhere.

The leaves get progressively smaller as they reach its top. They are oblong or lanceolate, often pinnate and (especially for the lower leaves), waxy grey green. Fine spines are present along the veins and leaf edges. The undersides have whitish veins. They emit latex when cut. The flower heads are pale yellow, often tinged purple, with 12-20 ray flowers but no disc flowers. The bracts are also often tinged purple. It flowers from July until September.

PURPLE AMARANTH

Purple Amaranth (Amaranthus Cruentus) also known as Red Amaranth, Blood Amaranth, Prince's Feather, and Mexican Grain Amaranth, is a flowering plant species that yields the nutritious staple amaranth grain. It is one of three Amaranthus species cultivated as a grain source, the other two being Amaranthus Hypochondriacus and Amaranthus Caudatus. In Mexico, it is called huautli and alegrĂ­a.

Purple Amaranth is a tall annual herb topped with clusters of dark reddish-pink flowers. The plant can grow to over 6 feet in height, and blooms in summer to fall. It is believed to have originated from Amaranthus Hybridus, with which it shares many morphological features. This purple variant was once grown for use in Inca rituals.

This species was in use as a food source in North America and Central America as early as 4000 BC. The seeds are eaten as a cereal grain. They are black in the wild plant, and white in the domesticated form. They are ground into flour, popped like popcorn, cooked into a porridge, and made into a confectionery called alegrĂ­a. The leaves can be cooked like spinach, and the seeds can be germinated into nutritious sprouts. While this is no longer a staple food in North and Central America, it is still grown and sold as a health food.

PURPLE MUSTARD

Purple Mustard (Chorispora Tenella) is a species of plant in the mustard family known by several other common names including Blue Mustard, Musk Mustard, and Crossflower. This mustard is native to Eurasia but is well known in other parts of the world, particularly in temperate regions, as an introduced species and a noxious weed. It has been introduced to much of North America, excluding most of the east coast and southeastern regions. It is a rare visitor to New England, only in Massachusetts, but is widespread and highly invasive in Colorado, Nevada and Wyoming.

This is an annual herb reaching a maximum of twenty inches in height and covered abundantly in sticky foliage. The four tiny flower petals emerge from a loose tube of sepals and spread into a corolla about a half inch wide in early spring between March and May. The flowers are lavender in color and a field heavily infested with Purple Mustard can take on a distinct lavender wash. The fruits are long upturned cylindrical capsules about an inch and a half long containing round, reddish-brown seeds. The plant has a strong musky scent which is generally considered unpleasant. It has been said that it smells like melted crayons.

This is a tenacious weed which can be troublesome in agriculture. It reduces yields in grain fields and when it is consumed by dairy cattle it gives their milk a bad taste and odor. This plant reproduces by seed, so any control method preventing the plants from setting seed is effective.

PURSLANE

Purslane (Portulaca Oleracea) is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae, which may reach 16 inches in length. It has an extensive distribution throughout the Old World extending from North Africa and Southern Europe through the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent to Malesia and Australasia.

It has smooth, reddish, mostly prostrate stems and alternate leaves clustered at stem joints and ends. The yellow flowers have five regular parts and are up to 0.24 inch wide. Depending upon rainfall, the flowers appear at any time during the year. The flowers open singly at the center of the leaf cluster for only a few hours on sunny mornings. Seeds are formed in a tiny pod, which opens when the seeds are mature. Purslane has a taproot with fibrous secondary roots and is able to tolerate poor compacted soils and drought.

Although Purslane is considered a weed in the United States, it may be eaten as a leaf vegetable. It has a slightly sour and salty taste and is eaten throughout much of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Mexico. The stems, leaves and flower buds are all edible. Purslane contains more omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular) than any other leafy vegetable plant. It also contains vitamins A, B, C, E, alpha-tocopherol, carotenoids, and dietary minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iron.

When stressed by low availability of water, Purslane, which has evolved in hot and dry environments, switches to photosynthesis using crassulacean acid metabolism (the CAM pathway). At night its leaves trap carbon dioxide, which is converted into malic acid (the souring principle of apples), and, in the day, the malic acid is converted into glucose. When harvested in the early morning, the leaves have ten times the malic acid content as when harvested in the late afternoon, and thus have a significantly more tangy taste.

Its leaves are used for insect or snake bites on the skin, boils, sores, pain from bee stings, bacillary dysentery, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, postpartum bleeding, and intestinal bleeding.

QUEEN ANNEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LACE

Queen Anneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lace or Wild Carrot (Daucus Carota) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia, and naturalized to North America and Australia. It was introduced and naturalized in North America, where it is often known as "Queen Anne's Lace". Both Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and her great grandmother Anne of Denmark are taken to be the Queen Anne for which the plant is named.

The Wild Carrot is a herbaceous, somewhat variable biennial plant that grows between 1 and 2 feet tall, roughly hairy, with a stiff, solid stem. The leaves are tripinnate, finely divided and lacy, and overall triangular in shape. The flowers are small and dull white, clustered in flat, dense umbels. They may be pink in bud and may have a reddish flower in the centre of the umbel.

Extra caution should be used when collecting Wild Carrot because it bears a close resemblance to poison hemlock. It is distinguished from the deadly poison hemlock by a mix of tripinnate leaves, fine hairs on its solid green stems and on its leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in the center of the umbel.

Like the cultivated carrot, the root is edible while young, but it quickly becomes too woody to consume. In addition, the leaves of the wild carrot can cause phytophotodermatitis, so caution should also be used when handling the plant. It has also been used as a method of contraception and an abortifacient for centuries.

This species is also documented to boost tomato plant production when kept nearby, and it can provide a microclimate of cooler, moister air for lettuce, when intercropped with it. However, the USDA has listed it as a noxious weed, and it is considered a serious pest in pastures. It persists in the soil seed bank for two to five years.

RED CLOVER

Red Clover (Trifolium Pretense) is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.

It is an herbaceous, short-lived perennial plant, variable in size, growing to 6-32 inches tall. The leaves are alternate, trifoliate (with three leaflets), green with a characteristic pale crescent in the outer half of the leaf.

The flowers are dark pink with a paler base, produced in a dense inflorescence, and are mostly visited by bumblebees, butterflies, and day-flying sphinx moths. This plant can spread vegetatively or by reseeding itself.

It is widely grown as a fodder crop, valued for its nitrogen fixation, which increases soil fertility. Partial sun is tolerated, but the preference is full sun, mesic conditions, and a loam or clay-loam soil. Habitats include fields, pastures, weedy meadows, vacant lots, grassy areas along roads, waste areas, and degraded prairie remnants.

Dietary amounts of Red Clover are safe (US Food & Drug Administration), but caution should be exercised in taking isoflavone-containing herbal products. Medicinal quantities may cause rash-like reactions, muscle ache, headache, nausea, vaginal bleeding in women, and slow blood clotting. Red Clover products should also be avoided during pregnancy and lactation.

REDROOT PIGWEED

Redroot Pigweed (Amaranthus Retroflexus), also known as Green Amaranth or Redroot Amaranth, is a species of flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae family (the Amaranth family). It has a deep pink to a reddish colored root. Its common name is Pigweed because it grows where hogs are pasture-fed.

It is native to the tropical Americas, but is widespread as an introduced species on most continents in a great number of habitats. This is an erect, annual herb reaching an average of 3-6 feet. The leaves higher on the stem have a lance shape and those lower on the plant are diamond or oval in shape. The plant is monoecious, bearing both male and female flowers. The inflorescence is a large, dense cluster of flowers interspersed with spiny green bracts. The fruit is a capsule with a "lid" which opens to reveal a tiny black seed.

This plant is eaten as a vegetable in different places of the world. No species of genus Amaranthus is known to be poisonous, but the leaves contain oxalic acid and may contain nitrates if grown in nitrate-rich soils, so the water should be discarded after boiling. It was used for a multitude of food and medicinal purposes by many Native American groups. It is among the species consumed as a vegetable in Mexican markets as Quelite Quintonil. It is used in the Indian state of Kerala to prepare a popular dish known as thoran by combining the finely cut leaves with grated coconut, chili peppers, garlic, turmeric and other ingredients.

The seeds are edible raw or toasted, and can be ground into flour and used for bread, hot cereal, or as a thickener.

SHEPHERD'S PURSE

Shepherd's Purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris) got its name because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purselike, is an annual flowering plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor, but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates, including the British Isles, North America and China, but also in the Mediterranean and North Africa.

This plant is the second most common weed in the world.

Shepherd's Purse plants grow from a rosette of lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem about 8 to 20 inches tall, which bears a few pointed leaves which partly grasp the stem. The flowers are white and small, (1/10th inch in diameter) with four petals and six stamens. They are borne in loose racemes, and produce flattened, two-chambered seed pods known as siliques, which are triangular to heart-shaped, each containing several seeds. It is commonly found on cultivated ground, waysides and meadows, disturbed land and road works.

Shepherd's Purse is gathered from the wild, or grown. It has many uses, including for food, to supplement animal feed, for cosmetics, and for medicinal purposes. It is cultivated as a commercial food crop in Asia.

This plant has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea or tincture, or externally as tincture, tea or ointments, for treatment of disorders of the skin, locomotor system, cardiovascular system, hemostasis, and gynaecologic problems.

SPINY SOWTHISTLE

Spiny Sowthistle or Prickly Sowthistle (Sonchus Asper) is a widespread plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family. It is native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. It has also become naturalized on other continents and is regarded as a noxious, invasive weed in many places. Its edible leaves make a palatable and nutritious leaf vegetable.

Spiny Sowthistle is an annual or biennial herb sometimes reaching a height of 1-3 feet with spiny leaves and yellow flowers resembling those of the dandelion. The leaves are bluish-green, simple, lanceolate, with wavy and sometimes lobed margins, covered in spines on both the margins. The base of the leaf surrounds the stem. The leaves and stems emit a milky sap when cut. One plant will produce several flat-topped arrays of flower heads, each head containing numerous yellow ray flowers but no disc flowers.

Spiny Sowthistle typically grows in full sun, moist to slightly dry conditions, and different kinds of soil, including loam, clay-loam, and shallow gravelly soil. The size of this plant is highly variable, depending on the moisture and fertility of the soil. It can bolt upward and form flowerheads very quickly during the summer.

SPOTTED SPURGE

Spotted Spurge or Prostrate Spurge (Euphorbia Maculata) is an annual plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to North America.

Spotted Spurge is a typically prostrate plant, with occasional specimens reaching as long as 12 inches. The stems spread out in a mat along the ground with each stem rarely greater than 18 inches long. The leaves are oval but rather elongate and arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are very small, with four white petals that quickly fade to pink.

The leaves often are marked with a red dash or tear drop in the center, a feature that lead to the common name of Spotted Spurge. It often grows in poor, compacted soil. While killing Spotted Spurge is relatively easy, the hard part is keeping it from coming back. The tap root of this plant is very long and its seeds are very hardy. This weed can and will grow back from either root pieces or seeds.

Spotted Spurge is a summer annual that doesn't like competition and depends on their prolific seed production for survival. A single plant can produce several thousand seeds, which are small and can remain dormant in the soil until conditions are suitable for germination (sprouting). Seeds produced in summer germinate immediately while those produced in late fall mostly will lie dormant and won't germinate until spring.

It grows in sunny locations and a variety of soils, and functions as a pioneer species in ecological succession.

The sap of this plant is a mild skin irritant and can cause a rash in some people. The sap is poisonous and considered carcinogenic.

If ingested in even small quantities, spurge can cause violent vomiting and diarrhea. In larger quantities, it can cause death.

STORKSBILL

Redstem Storksbill or Redstem Filaree (Erodium Cicutarium) is an herbaceous annual – or in warm climates, biennial – member of the family Geraniaceae of flowering plants. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin and was introduced to North America in the eighteenth century, where it has since become invasive, particularly of the deserts and arid grasslands of the southwestern United States.

It is a hairy, sticky annual. The stems bear bright pink flowers, which often have dark spots on the bases. The flowers are arranged in a loose cluster and have ten filaments – five of which are fertile – and five styles. The leaves are pinnate to pinnate-pinnatifid, and the long seed-pod, shaped like the bill of a stork, bursts open in a spiral when ripe, sending the seeds (which have little feathery parachutes attached) into the air. Seed launch is accomplished using a spring mechanism powered by shape changes as the fruits dry. The spiral shape of the awn can unwind during daily changes in humidity, leading to self-burial of the seeds once they are on the ground.

The entire plant is edible with a flavor similar to sharp parsley if picked young.

TOOTHED SPURGE

Toothed Spurge (Euphorbia Dentata) is a species of spurge. It is native to parts of North and South America, and is present elsewhere on the continents. It is a noxious weed in some areas. Sometimes this plant is referred to as Poinsettia Dentata. It is closely related to Wild Poinsettia (Poinsettia Cyathophora).

This plant is a summer annual that branches sparingly to occasionally; it is 9-24 inches tall. The stems are light green or light reddish green, terete, finely short-pubescent, and sparsely to abundantly hairy. The upper leaf surfaces are dark green often spattered with red spots and without hairs, while the lower leaf surfaces are light to medium green and can have short hairs along the veins. They are opposite or alternate and occur sparingly along the stems, except at their apices, where they occur in dense pseudo-whorls. The leaves are ¾–3 inches long and ¼-1 inch across. The leaf margins are coarsely dentate (toothed). The leaf bases are wedge-shaped, while their tips are bluntly acute to acute. The fruit is a three lobed, stalked capsule, 1/5 inch wide, which develops rapidly from the center of the cyathium, initially hanging down, becoming erect at maturity. Each fruit contains 3 seeds. The seed is light gray-brown, four angled, egg-shaped with tubercule-like projections. The roots consist of a taproot with a fibrous root system.

The preference is full sun, mesic to dry conditions, and poor soil containing significant amounts of clay, sand, or gravel. Disease rarely bothers the leaves and drought resistance is excellent. The seeds germinate after the weather becomes warm. Habitats include disturbed areas of prairies, abandoned fields, cultivated fields, railroads, parking lots, roadsides, and open waste ground.

The stem and leaves of this plant exudes a white milky sap when it becomes damaged.

WESTERN SALSISFY

Western Salsify (Tragopogon Dubius) is a species of salsify native to southern and central Europe and western Asia and found as far north and west as northern France. Western Salsify has been introduced into North America where it has become widespread, being reported from all the continental United States except for a few in the far south-east, and all provinces of Canada except Newfoundland and the northern territories. It is regarded as invasive in most states in the US. Like most Salsify, the Western Salsify grows as an annual or occasionally biennial forb, reaching a height of typically 8â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24 inches but sometimes almost to 40 inches. It grows typically in warm, sheltered spots with moist soil. Its yellow flower is 1.5-2.5 inches in diameter and is likely to be seen in late spring or early summer. The yellow flowers open early in the morning and often close by early afternoon. Later the plant forms a seed head that resembles that of dandelions, but is distinctly larger.

Western Salsify is not generally regarded as edible, though the root can be eaten raw or cooked. The most commonly eaten species of salsify is Tragopogon Porrifolius, a purple-flowered variety which can be cultivated in gardens and is said to have been a favorite of Thomas Jefferson.

WESTERN TANSYMUSTARD

Western Tansymustard (Descurainia Pinnata) is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and found in varied habitats. It is especially successful in deserts. It is a hardy plant which easily becomes weedy, and can spring up in disturbed, barren sites with bad soil.

The upper stems terminate in racemes of flowers about 2-12" in length. The small yellow flowers bloom in whorls at the apex of each raceme, while the siliques (slender seedpods) develop below. Each flower spans about 1/8" (3 mm.) across, consisting of 4 pale yellow petals, 4 green sepals, 6 stamens with yellow anthers, and a pistil with a stout style. The petals are about the same length as the sepals; they are both oblonglanceolate. The blooming period occurs from mid- to late spring and lasts about 2 months. There is no noticeable floral scent. Each flower is replaced by a cylindrical silique that is about 1/3" (8 mm.) long. This silique contains two rows of tiny seeds that are separated by a fine membrane. The spreading pedicels of the siliques (or flowers) are about ½" long when they are fully mature; the siliques angle upward from their pedicels and are more ascending. The tiny seeds are somewhat flattened, oblongoid or ovoid, and some shade orangebrown. They are small enough to be blown about by the wind. The root system consists of a stout taproot. This plant spreads by reseeding itself and often forms loose colonies.

The Western Tansymustard is toxic to grazing animals in large quantities due to nitrates and thiocyanates; however, it is nutritious in smaller amounts. The flowers are attractive to butterflies. The seeds are said to taste somewhat like black mustard and were utilized as food by Native American peoples such as the Navajo.

WHITE CLOVER

White Clover (Trifolium Repens) is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae native to Europe and central Asia. It has been widely introduced worldwide as a yard crop, and is now also common in most grassy areas of North America and New Zealand.

It is an herbaceous, perennial plant. It is low growing, with heads of whitish flowers, often with a tinge of pink or cream that may come on with the aging of the plant. The heads are generally 0.6â&#x20AC;&#x201C;0.8 inch wide, and are at the end of 2.8-in peduncles or flower stalks. The flowers are mostly visited by bumblebees. The leaves are trifoliolate, smooth, elliptic to egg-shaped and long-petioled and usually with light or dark markings. The stems function as stolons, so White Clover often forms mats, with the stems creeping as much as 7.1 inches a year, and rooting at the nodes. The leaves form the symbol known as shamrock.

It is considered to be a beneficial component of natural or organic lawn care due to its ability to fix nitrogen and out-compete lawn weeds. Natural nitrogen fixing reduces leaching from the soil and can reduce the incidence of some lawn diseases that are enhanced by the availability of synthetic fertilizer.

Besides making an excellent forage crop for livestock, clovers are a valuable survival food: they are high in proteins, widespread, and abundant. The fresh plants have been used for centuries as additives to salads and other meals consisting of leafy vegetables. They are not easy for humans to digest raw, however, but this is easily fixed by boiling the harvested plants for 5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;10 minutes. Dried flowerheads and seedpods can also be ground up into a nutritious flour and mixed with other foods, or can be steeped into an herbal tea. White Clover flour is sometimes sprinkled onto cooked foods such as boiled rice.

YELLOW SWEET CLOVER

Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus Officinalis) is a species of legume native to Eurasia and introduced in North America, Africa and Australia.

Sweet Clover can be an annual or biennial plant, and is 4â&#x20AC;&#x201C;6 feet high at maturity. Leaves alternate on the stem and possess three leaflets. Yellow flowers bloom in spring and summer and produce fruit in pods typically containing one seed. Seeds can be viable for up to 30 years. Plants have large taproots and tend to grow in groups. Plants have a characteristic sweet odor.

It is native to Europe and Asia and has been introduced to North America as a forage crop. It commonly grows in calcareous loamy and clay soils with a pH above 6.5 and can tolerate cold temperatures and drought; it does not tolerate standing water. Common places where it can be found include open disturbed land, prairies, and savannahs, and it grows in full or partial sunlight. It is an invasive species in areas where it has been introduced, especially in open grasslands and woodlands where it shades and out-competes native plant species.

Prior to World War II before the common use of commercial agricultural fertilizers, the plant was commonly used as a cover crop to increase nitrogen content and improve subsoil water capacity in poor soils.

The nectar of the flowers attracts many kinds of insects, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, and flies. Less common visitors include butterflies, skippers, beetles, and plant bugs. Sweet Clover is a preferred nectar plant for domestic honeybees as hives near Sweet Clover can yield up to 200 pounds of honey in a year. Sometimes bees collect pollen as well.

YELLOW WOOD SORREL

Yellow Wood Sorrel (Oxalis Stricta) is an herbaceous plant native to North America, parts of Eurasia, Southern India, and has a rare introduction in Britain. It tends to grow in woodlands, meadows, and in disturbed areas as both a perennial and annual.

Commonly considered a weed of gardens, fields, and lawns, it grows in full sun to partial shade. The alternate leaves of this plant are divided into three heart-shaped leaflets. These leaves curl up at night and open in the day to perform photosynthesis. The mature seed capsules open explosively when disturbed and can disperse seeds up to about 13 feet away. The flowers of the plant are hermaphroditic, blooming from May to September.

It generally requires dry to moist, alkaline soils, preferring sandy and loamy dirt to grow in. It requires welldrained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor grounds. It does not do well in full shade.

All parts of the plant are edible, with a distinct tangy flavor. Oxalis means literally "sour" and is named as such due to its oxalic acid content. Many domesticated vegetables, including spinach and broccoli, also contain oxalic acid, which is considered toxic when consumed in large quantities because it inhibits the absorption of calcium. Oxalic acid is not considered a problem when consumed moderately and with a varied diet, however people with gout, rheumatism and kidney stones should avoid it. Wood Sorrel is also rich in Vitamin C. The leaves and flowers of the plant are sometimes added to salads for decoration and flavoring. These can also be chewed raw (along with other parts of the plant, but not the root) as a thirst-quencher. A poultice of the plant has been used to treat dry mouth and swellings. Historically, it was used to treat scurvy, fevers, urinary infections, mouth sores, nausea and sore throats.

There are no poisonous look-alikes. Clover is often mistaken for wood sorrel but clover is not poisonous.