Flower Color

• Blue-purple
• Purple
• Red-purple

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

• Axillary racemes
• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 4 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 4 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 6 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

• 2 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 2-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
• 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
• 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)
• 6.0 cm (2.4 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

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

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Oblanceolate
• Oblong
• Pinnately lobed
• Runcinate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Lobed
• Undulate (sinuate, repand)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glandular
• Hirsute

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic
• 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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated
• Entire plant mobilized (tumbleweeds)

Moisture Regime

• Mesic
• Arid

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

• Arkansas
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Saskatchewan

• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 17
• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 46
• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 131
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 84
• Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 45
• Selected Weeds of Oregon, 1985 and 1989 Supplement (s) Oregon State Dept. of Agriculture, See page: s20
• South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 89
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 12 COBTE
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 70
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 260
• Weeds and Poisonous Plants of Wyoming and Utah 1987 (ISBN 0-941570-06-1) See page: 52
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 486
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 76
• Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 150
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 204
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 152
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 126
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 224
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 222
• Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 44
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X