Flower Color

• Blue-purple
• Purple
• White

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

• Head
• Solitary, terminal

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)
• 5 petals
• more than 10 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 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

• sepals lacking
• more than 10 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Spine-like

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 5 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Anthers united, syngynoecious

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Achene

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

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

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Elliptic
• Oblanceolate
• Pinnately lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Lobed
• Parted
• Serrate
• Undulate (sinuate, repand)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Clasping
• Cordate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute
• Aristate
• Mucronate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Floccose
• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Lower leaf surface more hairy
• Spiny or prickly
• Tomentose

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines on leaves or stems
• Spines on flowers\fruits AND leaves\stems

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Biennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
• 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)
• 2 - 2.5 meters (6.6 - 8.3 feet)
• 2.5 - 5 meters (8.3 - 16.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Nebraska

• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 112
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 177
• More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 167
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 190
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 207
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 448
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 108
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 78
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 202
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 168
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X