Flower Color

• Yellow-green
• Green

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

• Head
• Solitary, axillary
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)
• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)

Number of Sepals

• sepals lacking
• 6 sepals
• 7 sepals
• 8 sepals
• 9 sepals
• 10 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Rounded
• Square

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 attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Anthers united, syngynoecious

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Achene

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Pinnately dissected
• 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)

• 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 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Oblanceolate
• Ovate
• Pinnately lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Lobed
• Parted
• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Canescent
• Lower leaf surface more hairy
• Pubescent

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Spreading ascending
• Erect, columnar (narrow)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced
• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Rhizomatous

US State

• Kansas
• Texas
• Colorado
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• Nebraska

• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 105
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 211
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 13 AMBGR
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 190
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 465
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 164
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 68
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 56
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 184
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 52
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 48
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 50
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X