Flower Color

• Green

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

• Axillary cluster
• Axillary spikes
• Panicle
• Terminal spike

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

• sepals lacking
• 1 sepal
• 2 sepals
• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded
• Toothed

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 1 style

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)
• 1 carpel
• 3 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Utricle

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% total length
• Petiole 25% - 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Oblong
• Orbicular (round)
• Oval
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire
• Undulate (sinuate, repand)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Notched (emarginate, retuse)
• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Sparsely hairy

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT
• Spines on flowers or fruits only

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Annual

Growth Habit (while flowering)

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

Plant Height at Maturity

• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
• 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
• 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Aquatic
• Semi-aquatic
• Seasonally saturated

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

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

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Manitoba

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol85 Pg.507
• Common Weed Seedlings of the North Central States, 2001 North Central Regional Extension Publication # 607 See page: 12
• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 7
• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 22
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 78
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 62
• South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 76
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 3 AMATU
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 24
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 196
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 38
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 39
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 67
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 37
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X