Flower Color

• Green

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

• Axillary cluster
• Axillary racemes
• Axillary spikes
• Panicle
• 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)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
• 1 mm (.04 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 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
• 2 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Utricle

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

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)

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Linear or filiform

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Scurfy (mealy)

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

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced
• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Texas
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Montana
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon
• Northwest Territory

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 102
• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 81
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 53
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 6 CHELE
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 151
• Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 90
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 186
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 158
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X