Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Purple
• Red-purple
• White

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

• Axillary cluster

Number of Petals

• 4 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• 4 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length
• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 4 stamens
• 5 stamens
• 6 stamens
• 7 stamens
• 8 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

• 1 carpel
• 2 carpels
• 3 carpels
• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Halfway (perigynous)
• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 1-celled
• Capsule, 2-celled
• Capsule, 3-celled
• Capsule, > 3-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

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

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole absent (leaf sessile)

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Linear or filiform

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)

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

• Annual

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• 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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Aquatic
• Semi-aquatic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• Square

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Jersey
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Arizona
• California
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Nebraska

Other

• Puerto Rico
• Virgin Islands
• District of Columbia

• Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 228
• California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 170
• Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 71a
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 11 AMMCO
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 47
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 311
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 225
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X