For twenty years he had striven with the weeds in the Mission garden, and no man during that time dared say which had had the best of it, Ignacio Chavez or the interloping alfileria and purslane.
"The Bells of San Juan"
Jackson Gregory
During summer and fall large flocks of grayish white merinos could be seen getting a rich living on the brown grasses, the yellow stubble of old grain fields, and the tightly rolled nuts of the bur clover; while in winter and spring, hills and plains with their velvet-like covering of green alfileria offered the best and juiciest of food.
"History of California"
Helen Elliott Bandini
A tall young woman came up the walk, trailing her tawdry ruffles over the fragrant alfileria.
"The Wizard's Daughter and Other Stories"
Margaret Collier Graham
