Flower Color

• Purple
• Red-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

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular
• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• 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, monodelphous

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

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 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 2-4 mm (.08 - .16 in) long
• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Notched (emarginate, retuse)
• Acute
• Mucronate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Glandular
• Puberulent
• Punctate
• Sericeous or villous (silky)
• Villous or sericious (silky)

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Woody

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)
• 2 - 2.5 meters (6.6 - 8.3 feet)
• 2.5 - 5 meters (8.3 - 16.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Semi-aquatic
• 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

• Rhizomatous
• 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
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Other

• District of Columbia

Canadian Province or Territory

• New Brunswick
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Manitoba

• Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 219
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 111
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X