Flower Color

• Green
• White

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

• Axillary cluster
• Internodal cluster

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

• 2 sepals
• 3 sepals
• 4 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United at base < 25% length
• United from 25% - 75% length
• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)
• 4 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

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Achene
• 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

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Foliaceous 2-4 mm (.08 - .16 in) long
• Foliaceous 4-10 mm (.16 - .40 in) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Arcuate
• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% total length
• Petiole 25% - 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Sparsely hairy
• Strigose

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous
• Semi-woody

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Semi-aquatic
• Seasonally saturated

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• Round
• Square

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous

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
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Nebraska

Other

• Puerto Rico
• District of Columbia

Canadian Province or Territory

• New Brunswick
• Ontario
• Quebec

• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 53
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X