Flower Color

• Yellow-green
• Green

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

• Axillary cluster
• Axillary spikes
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Number of Sepals

• sepals lacking
• 4 sepals
• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• 1 style
• 2 styles
• 3 styles

Number of Stamens

• 3 stamens
• 4 stamens
• 5 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

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

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

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 NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate
• Opposite
• Opposite below, alternate above

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Palmate
• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
• 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)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Oblong
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Lobed
• Undulate (sinuate, repand)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Hastate
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Scurfy (mealy)

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, columnar (narrow)
• 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)
• 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Florida
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Missouri
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Alberta
• Saskatchewan

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol67Pg1069
• Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 32
• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 83
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 62
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 180
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 143, 145
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 586
• Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 29
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X