CRANBERRIES

Family: POACEAE
Grass Family

Genus: Echinochloa   Species: crusgalli

Notes: This is a common annual grass native to Europe that likes barren, moist areas. Stalks can reach 1-3 ft. in height and can form flat to mounded mats from 3-5 ft. in diameter. The inflorescence has densely-aggregated straight and bristly flower spikes, sometimes with a purple tinge.

Habitat: wet, barren areas; In Bloom: July-August

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ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE)
Sunflower Family

Genus: Bidens  Species:  frondosa

Notes: This annual usually grows from 1 to 3 feet tall and may produce branches, giving it a bushy appearance. The leaves are divided into three to five parts. Leaf color is medium to dark green, sometimes with purple veins. The leaf margins are slightly serrated. The flowers are greenish to dull yellow or brown, without showy petals. The seeds, as everyone knows, have two tooth-like projections that easily get caught in the clothing of those who walk among them or in the fur of cats and dogs.  The plant is generally not a serious cranberry weed, growing mainly in bare spots.  They are not thought to be very capable of invading areas where the cranberry vines are healthy.

Habitat: wet, barren areas; In Bloom: July-August

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Family: BETULACEAE
Birch or Alder Family

Genus: Betula

Notes: One of the key features of birch trees is the structure of their leaves, which are oval, finely-toothed, alternate, and simple; The young stems are woody and tough; Birch seedlings can be quite numerous in newly-constructed cranberry beds as these trees produce an incredible number of seeds that are scattered and carried by the wind. They also grow rapidly on bare soil. The birch family is composed of 6 genera and upwards of 170 species; most occur in cool and temperate areas of the northern hemisphere; Often associated with streams, lakes, or other areas where drainage is poor.

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Family: RUBIACEAE
Madder Family

Genus: Houstonia   Species: caerulea

Notes: White or pale-blue flowers, with a white or yellow center, roughly 1/2" wide; leaves only about 1/2" long, mostly at the base of the plant, but with several pairs of smaller stems with leaves.

Habitat: Open woods, fields, lawns, and meadows; In Bloom: Late May - July

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Family: MOLLUGINACEAE
The Carpetweed Family

Genus: Mollugo

Species: verticillata L.

Notes: Grows very low to the ground and has small, white flowers on short stalks originating from the axils of the leaves. The leaves are 1/2-1" long and are arranged in whorls of 5 or 6, usually resting upon the surface of the ground. The leaf blades are slightly wider towards the tips. Carpetweeds, as their name implies, quickly "carpet" newly cultivated ground and are distributed from coast to coast in the U.S.

Habitat: roadsides, cultivated ground, sandy places; In Bloom: July-Nov.

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Family: ROSACEAE
The Rose Family

Genus: Potentilla   Species: simplex

Notes: A Very low, spreading plant with long stems and solitary yellow flowers arising from the axils of palmately 5-parted leaves (up to 2.5" long) resembling those of wild strawberry. This species is very similar to Canadian Dwarf Cinquefoil (P. canadensis), but the latter has smaller leaflets that are toothed only above the middle. Both species are indicators of impoverished soil.

Habitat: Dry, open soil; In Bloom: April - June

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Family: BRASSICACEAE (CRUCIFERAE)
The Mustard Family

Genus: Rorippa   Species: sylvestris

Notes: The leaves of this plant are distinct. They are lance-shaped or oblong, and similar to dandelion leaves. The upper leaves are deeply cut or toothed. The flowers are bright yellow in color, up to 1/4" wide. This plant develops pods that are narrow and roughly 1/2" long.

Habitat: Wet areas, shores and roadsides; In Bloom: June - August

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Family: ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE)
Sunflower Family

Genus: Gnaphalium

Species: uliginosum L.

Notes: 4-30 in. high; flowerheads small (2 mm long), white, with yellow tuft, fragrant and clustered near the top; stems cottony; leaves narrow, straplike and woolly below. Cudweeds, like the closely-related everlastings and pussytoes, contain a soothing antibiotic. Old-time dairy farmers found that feeding cudweed to a cow which had lost its cud helped to restore digestion.

Habitat: Dry prairies, fields, clearings; In Bloom: July - November

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(COMMON DANDELION)

Family: ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE)
Sunflower Family

Genus: Taraxacum   Species: officinale

Notes: Very abundant; Yellow flower heads (1-2" wide), composed of many individual flowers (or florets)--a key family character--are borne atop unbranched, hollow and naked stalks; Older florets at the outer part of the flower heads are turned downward; Leaves noticeably and irregularly cleft. Dandelions are actively pollinated by various insects, particularly honey bees and, to a fair extent, bumble bees.

Habitat: Fields, lawns, open places; In Bloom: May-July

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Family: CUSCUTACEAE
Dodder Family

Genus: Cuscuta   Species: At least 15 are found in the eastern U. S. and all are difficult to distinguish from one another

Notes: A climbing, parasitic, yellow or orange vine that produces small, dense clusters of tiny white, bell-shaped flowers; Leaves are reduced to a few very tiny scales; Vines tightly wrap around the stems of cranberry (and other) plants and absorb their liquid contents through tiny suckers.

Control: Pull and destroy prior to seed set - It is best to pull the dodder-infected upright(s) out of the bed, or else the dodder may sprout again from inside the upright(s). In addition, it is advised to "flag" the area(s) where the dodder is found in order to monitor for additional dodder plants from day to day. Seeds may spread by wind or water (during flooding). Frank Caruso at the UMass Cranberry Experiment Station has been developing a mycoherbicide (a natural fungus) for control of this troublesome and serious weed.

Habitat: On a variety of plants in moist, low ground; In Bloom: July - October

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Family: Hypericaceae (or Clusiaceae)

Genus: Hypericum   Species: mutilum

Notes: A diffusely branched plant with tiny (1/5" or 5 mm wide) yellow flowers and oblong leaves. The color and height of this weed blends in well with cranberry uprights and is called "False cranberry" by many of the local cranberry growers.

Habitat: Fields, roadsides and waste places; In Bloom: June-September

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Family: ONAGRACEAE (Evening Primrose Family)

Genus: Epilobium   Species: angustifolium

Notes: This 2 to 6-ft. plant has a showy flower that is often the subject of many of Maine's postcards and calendar photos. It has a terminal, spike-like cluster of deep pink/light purple flowers and narrow willow-like leaves on a tall stem. The flowers are about an inch wide and have 4 spreading petals. There are 8 stamens and a 4-parted stigma at the tip of the style. The leaves are up to 8 inches long, lanceolate to linear.

Habitat: Roadsides, recently cleared woodlands (especially burned-over areas); In Bloom: July-August

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Family: POLYTRICHACEAE

Genus: Polytrichum   Species: commune

Notes: Shoots are perennial, leafy, and typically form dense mats throughout a cranberry bed (especially along the banks of drainage ditches, bed margins, and bare areas) due to their vegetative mode of reproduction, whereby shoots are sent out laterally from the bases of existing stems; May also reproduce sexually via spores produced within terminal capsules that are borne by single thread-like stalks rising up from the leafy portions of the primary stalks.

Habitat: Acidic, moist areas; Production of spore-producing stalks: May

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Family: ONAGRACEAE (The Evening Primrose Family)

Genus: Epilobium   Species: ohirsutum L., EPIHI

Notes: Resembles Common Speedwell and Northern Willowherb quite a lot. It has branching, hairy stems and its tiny, pale pink flowers are borne on the ends of leafless stalks or bracts arising from the main stem and in the axils of the upper leaves. The flowers--4 petals each--have distinctive notches on them (photo of flowers).

Habitat: Waste places, roadsides, meadows; In Bloom: July - August in Maine

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Family: ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE) (Sunflower Family)

Genus: Hieracium       Species: aurantiacum

Notes: Hairy and mostly leafless stalk bears several heads of ray flowers; Flowers: heads 0.5" (1.3 cm) wide, each surrounded by bracts covered with gland-tipped black hairs; Leaves: basal leaves 2-10" (5-25 cm) long, oblong, untoothed, covered with stiff hairs; Both the yellow and orange hawkweeds were introduced from Europe. They spread quickly by leafy runners.

Habitat: Pastures, roadsides, newly-disturbed areas; In Bloom: May - August
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Family: FABACEAE (Bean, Pea, Legume Family)

Genus: Trifolium (Yellow Clovers)   Species: agrarium

Notes: Very low-growing with small, yellow pea-like flowers clustered together in oblong heads of 15 or more flowers situated above leaves that are divided into 3 wedge-shaped leaflets; Flower heads and leaflets about 1/2" long; Stems mostly smooth and erect; Leaves alternate and finely toothed; Middle leaflet distinctly stalked.

Habitat: Lawns, fields, and roadsides; In Bloom: July-September

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Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family)

Genus: Equisetum   Species: arvense

Notes: Equisetum, though distributed world-wide, is the only surviving genus of the horsetail family, with just 35 living species. It is probably the most ancient plant family alive today, resembling taller plants that dominated the landscape during the dinosaur age. The stems are jointed and hollow; leaves whorled, scale-like, non-green, and somewhat similar to fir needles; Horizontal, vegetative rhizomes beneath the soil/sand surface; Reproductive part of the plant is a very straight, leafless and brown stalk bearing a cone-like strobilus at the tip, within which spores are formed and later released. The reproductive stems/stalks appear to be separated from the green, leaf-possessing stems, but the two types of stems are connected together by the underground rhizomes. Field horsetail is now resistant to most herbicides.

Control: Since field horsetail does particularly well in neutral or slightly basic soils, make sure the pH of your bog is acidic; Improve your bed's drainage as well since they do very well in wet areas.

Habitat: Moist to wet sands and soils; Production of spore-producing stalks: Early May

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Family: ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE) (Sunflower Family)

Genus: Erigeron (formerly Eupatorium)  Species: canadensis

Notes: This is a winter annual weed that thrives in bare soil but is soon crowded out as perennial plants become established. It can be found in fields, along roadsides, and in waste places. It flowers from July - November. It's a coarse weed with an erect, bristly-haired stem that has branching clusters of small, cup-like, white (with a hint of green) flower heads arising from upper leaf axils. Horseweed has been called marestail in the past because of its very similar, spike-like branches that collectively bare resemblance to a horse's tail. Since it is a winter annual germinating in September and remaining as a small rosette through the winter, it is also called buttonweed because of the appearance of that particular growth stage.

Control: Since this weed is a member of the Sunflower Family, there is a particular herbicide that would work very well against it (email Charles Armstrong at charlesa@umext.maine.edu for more info.)

Habitat: Moist to wet sands and soils; Production of spore-producing stalks: Early May

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Family: POLYGONACEAE (Buckwheat Family)

Genus: Polygonum   Species: persicaria and/or caespitosum

Notes: Some may also refer to this very common weed as "Smartweed." The leaves are distinctly pigmented in the centers. This dark green, triangle-shaped splotch was at one time thought to resemble a lady's thumbprint; Leaves alternate, opposite, 2-6" (5-15 cm) long and narrowly or broadly lanceolate, with a fringe of hairs along the cylindrical sheath located at each leaf base. The small, pink or purplish flowers are clustered together in spikes along a single inflorescence (similar to the flowers of lupine or loosestrife). Interestingly, the flowers in the Polygonaceae lack petals. Instead, they have petal-like structures called tepals.

Habitat: Roadsides, damp clearings, cultivated ground; In Bloom: June-October

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Family: ACERACEAE (Maple Family)

Genus: Acer

Notes: The maple family comprises just two genera and about 1200 species; Leaves opposite, simple and palmately veined; sometimes compound (as in the Boxelder), changing color in the fall; The more mature trees possess distinctive fruits called samaras, which are paired, winged seeds that spin to the earth like that of a helicopter's rotor; All maples produce sap in late winter and early spring, but only the Sugar Maple produces sap that is high enough in sugar content to make it of commercial interest

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Family: ROSACEAE (Rose Family)

Genus: Spiraea   Species: alba

Notes: Woody, with a dense, pyramidal terminal cluster of small, pale-pink flowers (sometimes white); leaves long, lance-shaped, finely toothed and pale on underside; plants from 2-6' high.

Habitat: Low, moist ground, meadows and fields; In Bloom: June - September

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Family: ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE) (The Sunflower Family)

Genus: Solidago   Species: graminifolia

Notes: There are at least 18 species of goldenrod. This species is characterized by having narrow leaves that are long (3-5 inches) and pointed, almost grass-like, with 3 to 5 veins. The flower heads are comprised of 10-20 ray flowers and 8-12 disk flowers (all colored yellow). Plants can grow to heights of 2 to 4 ft.

Habitat: Roadsides, fields, and thickets; In Bloom: July - October

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Family: ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE) (The Sunflower Family)

Genus: Aster   Species: novi-belgii

Notes: This common late-summer branching plant has narrow leaves and numerous flower heads with violet-blue ray flowers surrounding a yellow center (center comprised of disk flowers). The leaves are 2-6" long, oblong to linear-lanceolate, with the upper leaves partly clasping the stem. The entire plant can be anywhere from 8 to 36 inches high.

Habitat: Shores, damp thickets and meadows; In Bloom: August - October

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Family: EUPHORBIACEAE (Spurge Family)

Genus: Euphorbia   Species: humistrata

Notes:  This is an ascending, branching, mat-forming summer annual found mostly during June and July in Maine. The stems and leaves exude a milky sap when injured.  The pale green leaves are opposite and oblong (or somewhat egg-shaped or linear). The plant has a shallow taproot with secondary fibrous roots.  The stems persist for only a short time after frost.

Habitat: Landscapes, turfgrass, cultivated fields, gardens and waste areas; Survives on dry or sandy, low-nutrient soil and on compacted or disturbed sites;

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Family: FABACEAE (Bean, Pea, Legume Family)

Genus: Vicia   Species: americana

Notes:  This is a climbing plant often used as a cover crop.  It has gray-green compound leaves and long, one-sided, crowded spikes of pea-like tubular blue-purple flowers in loose clusters.  There are 17 different Vetches in the northeastern US.

Habitat: Roadsides and fields, and sometimes heavy along cranberry dikes and bog edges; It can move onto a cranberry bed substantially if uncontrolled; In Bloom: July-August (in Maine)

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Family: CARYOPHYLLACEAE (The Pink or Carnation Family)

Genus: Spergularia   Species: rubra

Notes: The leaves of this annual or short-lived perennial weed are so narrow and flat that they resemble fir needles, and the plant even feels like a juniper of some kind (a bit scratchy or rough).  It grows in thick tufts very low to the ground and spreads outward radially (i.e. from a central point), below which the roots will be found.  The tiny flowers (1/6" to 1/4" wide) have 5 petals and are a light pink to purple in color (less purple towards the flower center, which has 10 yellow stamens, and whiter on underside of petals). Common chickweed (Stellaria media) is also in this family.

Habitat: Dry, sandy places; In Bloom: mid-May (in Maine)

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Family: ASTERACEAE (The Sunflower Family)

Genus: Aster   Species: vimineus

Notes: This plant has numerous white flower heads arising from smooth, slender, purple-tinged branching stems.

Habitat: Dry to moist fields, meadows and shores; In Bloom: August - October

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Family: SCROPHULARIACEAE (Snapdragon or Figwort Family)

Genus: Veronica   Species: serpyllifolia

Notes: This is a creeping plant that has clusters of white or pale blue flowers (4-lobed, about 1/8" wide) with darker stripes on the petals. 3 of the 4 petals are rounded, with the lowest one a bit narrower. The plant forms mats along the ground. The mostly opposite leaves are 1/4-1/2" long, minutely-toothed, egg-shaped or sometimes more rounded/ovate.

Habitat: Roadsides, meadows, and damp open woods; In Bloom: May - July

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Family: PORTULACACEAE (The Purslane Family)

Genus: Portulaca   Species: oleracea

Notes: This is a sprawling plant with smooth, fleshy, reddish stems; flowers are small and pale yellow, solitary or in small rounded clusters.

Habitat: Cultivated and waste ground; In Bloom: June - November

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Family: FABACEAE (The Pea Family)

Genus: Trifolium   Species: repens

Notes: White or pinkish, head-like flower clusters and 3-part leaves rise on separate stalks from a creeping stem. The flowers are 1/4 - 1/2" long, pea-like, in long-stalked clusters about 3/4" wide; turning brown with age.

Habitat: In addition to cranberry bogs, it can be found commonly in lawns, roadsides, and fields; In Bloom: May - October

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Family: VIOLACEAE (The Violet Family)

Genus: Viola   Species: lanceolata

Notes: This small, dainty white flowered violet is easy to recognize. Its leaves are elongate, lance-shaped, and just 2 to 3 inches long. Its roots (or rhizomes) are fine and creeping, and give way to leaves and flowers that are borne basally on separate stalks. In cranberries, this violet is quite common in wet areas or sparsely vegetated areas. If vine coverage is thick, this violet has great difficulty competing and will most often not survive.

Habitat: Woods, meadows, damp areas; In Bloom: May - early June

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Family: FABACEAE (The Pea Family)

Genus: Apios  Species:  americana

Notes: A climbing vine with maroon or reddish-brown pea-like flowers in compact racemes arising from the leaf axils. The fruits are small pods which look like miniature bean or pea pods containing about five small, hard seeds. Flowers 1/2" long; keel (two fused lower petals) are scythe-shaped and upturned; They are light to medium purple, with darker and lighter markings, and are grouped in clusters. Leaves are 4-8" long, pinnately compound, with 5-7 ovate to lanceolate leaflets. Vines can reach 10 feet long. In cranberry beds, the vines grow among and over top of the cranberry vines, forming dense, twisting & tangled mats. Cranberry vines may die in areas of heavy wild bean growth.  Wild bean can spread extremely rapidly on bogs. Its small, potato-like tubers underground help it to overwinter and to spread.  The tubers must be removed from the bog if control is to be achieved. Notes of Interest: One way to remove the tubers would be to eat them, just as Native Americans and the Pilgrims were accustomed to doing.  The Pilgrims relied on them as a food source during their early years in Massachusetts.  The tubers can be used in soups and stews or fried like potatoes; the cooked seeds can also be eaten.

Habitat: Moist, low spots and thickets; In Bloom: July - September

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Genus: Panicum   Species: capillare

Notes: This is a tough, hairy grass having branching, purplish panicles (panicle: a flower cluster that is loosely and irregularly branched)

Habitat: Damp areas;

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Family: LYTHRACEAE (Loosestrife Family) or some sources use PRIMULACEAE (Primrose Family)

Genus: Lysimachia   Species: terrestris

Notes: The erect stem bears a terminal, spike-like cluster of 1/2" yellow flowers with 2 red spots at the base of each petal. Spreads rapidly by underground stems. This weed can cause moderate cranberry yield reductions. It may also serve as an early-season host for dodder and tips may harbor Sparganothis fruitworm larvae. Pre-emergence herbicide application should be made in the spring. It may be wiped with glyphosate during the growing season. Fall applications of Casoron may also offer some control. Control efforts should ideally begin when patches are still small.

Habitat: Marshes, moist thickets, low grounds; In Bloom: July - August (in Maine)

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Family: OXALIDACEAE (Wood Sorrel Family)

Genus: Oxalis   Species: europaea

Notes: Low-spreading plant with clover-like, sour-tasting leaves and one to several small (1/2") yellow flowers possessing 5 petals. The leaves are quite characteristic in that they are palmately divided into 3 heart-shaped leaflets that close at dusk and open in the morning. Each leaflet is 1/2-3/4" wide. The plants can reach heights of 6-15 inches. (The leaves may be used in salads, but sparingly due to the oxalic acid content.)

Habitat: Waste places, roadsides, fields; In Bloom: May - October

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