Flower Color

• Yellow
• Purple
• Red-purple
• White

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

• Head
• Solitary, axillary
• Solitary, terminal
• Terminal raceme

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)

• 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) or more

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

• 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

• 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)

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)

• Pinnately lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Lobed
• Undulate (sinuate, repand)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute
• Aristate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Canescent
• Floccose
• Pubescent
• Spiny or prickly

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
• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
• 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced
• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root
• Tuberous

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Oklahoma

• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 13 CIRHO
• Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 11
• Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 88
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 271, 313
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 66
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X