![Cover art for publication CM201](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/cm0201cvr.jpg?itok=1mSmRgJa)
![Cover art for publication CM201](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/cm0201cvr.jpg?itok=1mSmRgJa)
Clear Writing
Reviewed
Get your point across clearly in writing with these 10 principles of clear writing. Also, learn how to test the clearness of your writing and keep it simple.
![Panic grass.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p36-panicgrass.jpg?itok=oh1thX8m)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 36
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More than three dozen species of panic grass are commonly found across the Midwest. Seeds are football-shaped and borne on a sprawling, panicle-shaped seed head. The leaves of panic grasses resemble flags along the stem.
![American plum tree with fruit.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p04-american-plum.jpg?itok=5bqVidKX)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 04
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American plum can grow as a small tree up to 20 feet high but more commonly occurs in colonies or thickets by sending up root suckers and shoots.
![Pigweed.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p39-pigweed.jpg?itok=JDEdHtlN)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 39
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Pigweed leaves are alternate and simple. Small green or tan flowers produce small, round, shiny black seeds. The roots are red when pulled. Depending on the species, pigweed may grow 1 to 8 feet tall.
![Bidens flower.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p07-bidens.jpg?itok=dhMRKrWC)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 07
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Bidens is most often found in moist areas. It has yellow flowers that are 1 to 1.5 inches.
![Broomsedge.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p10-broomsedge.jpg?itok=q8w7kSPU)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 10
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Broomsedge is a native warm-season grass that is often confused with little bluestem, but broomsedge stems are the more flattened and more densely leafed. Also, broomsedge in the fall/winter is typically yellowish tan, while little bluestem has a bronzy color.
![Possum haw.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p42-possumhaw.jpg?itok=n-X9360J)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 42
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Possum haw grows mostly as a shrub but sometimes as a tree up to 30 feet tall. The twigs are slender with short, spurlike lateral twigs. The white flowers bloom in mid-spring either singularly or in clusters. Fruits are orange to red and globe-shaped.
![Shrub dogwood.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p13-shrubdogwood.jpg?itok=buRAkKNq)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 13
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Shrub dogwoods are common in fence lines and along forest edges. Individual plants are rather short (less than 12 feet tall) and somewhat rounded.
![Sassafras.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p45-sassafras.jpg?itok=n3-B_Rhj)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 45
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Sassafras trees are short to medium-sized. Its leaves have margins of three shapes: entire, one-lobed and three-lobed. The twigs have a yellow-green hue and turn upward at the tips. The dark blackish-blue fruits attach to a long, red, swollen stalk.
![A meadow vole.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-01/g09445cvr-p03-meadowvole.jpg?itok=3pz8nVXa)
Controlling Voles in Horticulture Plantings and Orchards in Missouri - Page 3
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Meadow voles and prairie voles spend most of their lives above ground, living in and feeding on grasses and seeds. They may travel as far as 1/4 mile in search of food and cover. Their typical habitat includes lightly grazed pastures, old fields and grassy areas, lawns and gardens.
![False indigo.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p16-falseindigo.jpg?itok=0sWdccly)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 16
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False indigo occurs in moist ground in thickets along streams, rocky banks, pond borders and open wet woods. The leaves are pinnately compound. The dense flower clusters are deep purple to blue and produce numerous fruits that mature in late summer.
![Slender lespedeza.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p48-slenderlespedeza.jpg?itok=EPeQAy9O)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 48
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Slender lespedeza leaves are divided into three leaflets 1 to 1-1/2 inches long and less than 1/4 inch wide. Stems are upright, up to 3 feet tall. Flowers are pink to purple and occur in clusters toward the top of the plant.
![Giant ragweed.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p19-ragweedgiant.jpg?itok=iXNjinzb)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 19
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Giant ragweed attains a considerable height, often in excess of 7 feet. Its leaves are three-lobed (sometimes five-lobed), and its stems may be 3/4 inch or more in diameter at the plant base.
![Sunflowers.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p51-sunflower.jpg?itok=lfFuxxpw)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 51
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Sunflowers exhibit a variety of characteristics, but most of the commonly encountered species have triangular to lanceolate leaves, rough leaf surfaces and conspicuous yellow flowers.
![Greenbrier stem.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvf-p22-greenbrierstem.jpg?itok=173hizah)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 22
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Greenbriers grow as stout vines, climbing with the aid of tendrils that arise in pairs at the base of leaf stalks. The flowers are small and green and grow in clusters of 5 to 26 flowers on long stalks.
![Timothy seed heads.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p54-timothy.jpg?itok=LBguu2OH)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 54
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Timothy is a cool-season bunch grass. By late spring it can be readily identified by the blue-green, cylindrical seed head resembling a small cattail. It has an elongated ligule at the base of the leaf, with a notch on each side.
![Huckleberry.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p25-huckleberry.jpg?itok=-zAdEXYQ)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 25
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Huckleberries are stiffly branched leafy shrubs or small trees, often found in extensive colonies, from 6 inches to 10 feet tall. The alternate, simple leaves are 3/4 to 3 inches long and 1/2 to 1 inch wide. The fruits are blue to black berries with a faint whitish coating.
![Wild bean seed pod and flower.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p57-wildbean.jpg?itok=72wd5iA0)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 57
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Three species of wild bean occur in the Midwest. Each is a somewhat small plant with twining vines and relatively small leaves composed of three leaflets. Seeds are present in hairy pods.
![Jewelweed.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p28-jewelweed.jpg?itok=FudVrT_6)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 28
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Jewelweed commonly reaches 18-24 inches. Leaves have scalloped edges and fleshy stems that exude a clear, watery gel-like liquid when crushed. Flowers are orange (I. capensis) or pale yellow (I. pallida).
![Little bluestem.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p31-littlebluestem.jpg?itok=6ylosbKF)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 31
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Little bluestem is a native grass that occurs in clumps with fine leaves less than 1/4 inch wide. Seed stalks are commonly 2 to 3 feet tall. Stems are hairy and flattened near the base. Seeds are light and fluffy.
![Orchard grass.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p34-orchardgrass.jpg?itok=mt4d5AJB)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 34
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Orchard grass is a cool-season bunch grass. Its leaves have a bluish cast. Close inspection of the leaf collar reveals a flattened shape and membranous ligule. Its rather distinctive seed heads form by late May. Height at maturity averages 3 feet.
![Simple leaf with parts labeled.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p02-simple-leaf.jpg?itok=Hg6ALtLw)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 02
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Refer to this glossary for definitions of words and phrases related to plants.
![Cover art for publication CM350](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/cm0350cvr.jpg?itok=GsYR5oxo)
Writing Features
Reviewed
Good feature writers are imaginative, curious, nosey, attentive, unconventional, witty, and usually are not above "borrowing" a good writing idea from someone else.
![Partridge pea.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p37-partridgepea.jpg?itok=TXNf4Ooc)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 37
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Partridge pea grows from 12 to 18 inches up to 3 feet tall. It has compound, alternate leaves. Leaflets are less than 1 inch long. Flowers are bright yellow with reddish-purple bases, about 1 inch across. Ripened seedpods are red-brown.
![Barnyardgrass.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/mp0903cvr-p05-barnyardgrass.jpg?itok=OfsAuY2J)
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest, Page 05
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Barnyardgrass is most often found growing in moist areas. The large seeds of this grass make it an important food source for bobwhites.