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Roger Batt and Brian Wilbur are holding the pre flowering bud heads of the the Hoary Cress plant and Roger asks "Approximately how many seeds can be produced off of one little head like this?" Brian explains that he is not sure of the exact number but it is a lot. Each one of these buds will open up into a flower and each flower will have number of seeds that it produces. He estimates the plant will probably produce a thousand seeds per flower head. Roger notes that this is a reason why this particular plant is so prolific in certain areas because of the population density and its ability to produce lot of seeds. Brian agrees that seed production is one major reason for the spread of the plant. However, he also notes that with the perennial root system, as a soil area is disturbed like the one they are looking at, the construction tears the root system. Root fragments are spread throughout the work area and new colonies of the weed are started. He concludes that the plant actually has two ways to spread, from seeds and roots.
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