Flower Color

• Blue-purple
• Purple

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

• Axillary racemes

Number of Petals

• 1 petal

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular
• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

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

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 10 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens NOT attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments united, diadelphous

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 1-celled
• Legume

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Compound odd pinnate < 8 leaflets
• Compound odd pinnate > 8 leaflets

Stipules

• Foliaceous < 2 mm (< .08 inch) long
• Foliaceous 2-4 mm (.08 - .16 in) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% 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)

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Notched (emarginate, retuse)
• Mucronate
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Canescent
• Tomentose

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous
• Semi-woody
• Woody

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Spreading ascending
• 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

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Rhizomatous
• Tap Root

US State

• Arkansas
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Texas
• Wisconsin
• Indiana
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• Ontario
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan

• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 56
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 112
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 90
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X