Weed Information: Bassia scoparia (kochia)
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Bassia scoparia (kochia)

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Description

Also called `red belvedere` and `burning bush.` This species has developed resistance to the triazine herbicides which were commonly used along road and rail rights-of-way and has since formed profuse stands in many such sites. Although introduced as a forage crop, under certain conditions the plant can accumulate toxic levels of nitrate. At maturity many of the plants break off and become `tumble-weeds.` The soft, hairy leaves resemble those of Bassia hyssopifolia.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Red (or pink)
  • Green
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Axillary racemes
  • Axillary spikes
  • Solitary, axillary
  • Terminal raceme
  • 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)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 2 styles
Number of 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
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Utricle
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Arcuate
  • Parallel
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
  • Linear or filiform
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
  • Ciliate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Lower leaf surface more hairy
  • Sericeous or villous (silky)
  • Villous or sericious (silky)
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
  • 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)
  • 2 - 2.5 meters (6.6 - 8.3 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Entire plant mobilized (tumbleweeds)
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
  • Arid
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • 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
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Saskatchewan

  • California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 216
  • Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 32
  • Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 44
  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 136
  • Common Weed Seedlings of the North Central States, 2001 North Central Regional Extension Publication # 607 See page: 19
  • Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 9
  • Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 19
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 63
  • More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 151
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 56
  • Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 25
  • Selected Weeds of Oregon, 1985 and 1989 Supplement (s) Oregon State Dept. of Agriculture, See page: 25
  • South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 80
  • South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 78
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 6 KCHSC
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 15
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 191
  • Weeds and Poisonous Plants of Wyoming and Utah 1987 (ISBN 0-941570-06-1) See page: 22
  • Weeds of Alberta, 1983 Alberta Environmental Centre Agdex 640-4, See page: 55
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 594
  • Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 47
  • Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 92
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 256
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 187
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 60
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 206
  • Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 39
  • Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 158-59,163
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 159
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 116
  • Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 274
  • Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 270
  • Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 31
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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