Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• White

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

• Corymb
• Solitary, terminal
• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Square

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.8 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style
• More than 10 styles

Number of Stamens

• more than 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

• 10 carpels
• >10 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Schizocarp

Fruit Length at Maturity

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

Fruit Width at Maturity

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

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Palmately dissected
• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

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

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Palmate

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

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Deltoid (triangular)
• Ovate
• Palmately 4 - 5 lobed
• Palmately > 5 lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire
• Lobed
• Parted

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Stellate (star shaped)
• Strigose

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

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Spreading ascending
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic
• Arid

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Wisconsin
• Indiana
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Nebraska

• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 121
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 359
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X