Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Purple
• Red-purple

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

• Solitary, axillary

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)

• 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.8 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
• 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
• 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)
• > 5.0 cm (> 2.0 inches)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

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

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

• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Palmately dissected

Stipules

• Foliaceous 4-10 mm (.16 - .40 in) long
• Foliaceous > 1 cm (> .40 inch) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Palmate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole 25% - 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 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)

• Palmately 4 - 5 lobed
• Palmately > 5 lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Lobed
• Parted

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Hirsute
• 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

• 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

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

• Arkansas
• Florida
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Virginia
• Indiana
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 120
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 358
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X