Flower Color

• Green
• Purple
• White
• Multi-colored

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

• Simple umbel

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United at base only (<25% length)
• United from 25% - 75% length

Petal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 5 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments united, monodelphous

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)
• Carpels separated

Number of Carpels

• 2 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Follicle

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 6.0 cm (2.4 inches)
• 7.0 cm (2.8 inches)
• 8.0 cm (3.2 inches)
• 9.0 cm (3.6 inches)
• 1.0 dm (4.0 inches)
• 1.5 dm (6.0 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Whorled 3 per node
• Whorled 4 per node

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)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Linear or filiform

Succulence

• Succulent

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Puberulent

Milky Juice

• Juice milky

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• 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

US State

• Kansas
• Missouri
• Texas
• Arizona
• Colorado
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Utah

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 228
• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 83
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 141
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 343
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 115
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 40
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 40
• Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 66
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X