Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Yellow
• Green
• Multi-colored

Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)

• Axillary cluster
• Internodal cluster

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 1 style
• 2 styles

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)
• 5 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens NOT attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
• 2 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Schizocarp
• Samara

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
• 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
• 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)
• 6.0 cm (2.4 inches)
• 7.0 cm (2.8 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 4.0 cm (1.8 inches)
• more than 4.0 cm (> 1.8 inches)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Palmate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole 25% - 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Palmately 4 - 5 lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Lobed
• Parted

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Cordate
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Lower leaf surface more hairy
• Puberulent

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)
• Juice milky

Woodiness

• Woody

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• more than 5.0 meters (16.6 33 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• California
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Washington
• Nebraska

Other

• District of Columbia

Canadian Province or Territory

• New Brunswick
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan

• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X