Flower Color

• Yellow-green
• Green

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

• Solitary, axillary

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular
• Flowers slightly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Laciniate
• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 1 style
• 2 styles

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)
• 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

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Berry, black
• Berry, yellow\orange\brown
• Berry, purple

Fruit Length at Maturity

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

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Foliaceous < 2 mm (< .08 inch) long
• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Arcuate
• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% 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)

• Deltoid (triangular)
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Cordate
• Oblique
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Pubescent
• Scabrous (like sand paper)

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Woody

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• more than 5.0 meters (16.6 33 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

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
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• 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
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Other

• District of Columbia

Canadian Province or Territory

• Ontario
• Quebec
• Manitoba

• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X