Flower Color

• Green

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

• Terminal raceme
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)
• 4 petals
• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals
• 6 sepals
• 7 sepals
• 8 sepals
• 9 sepals
• 10 sepals
• more than 10 sepals

Sepal Separation

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

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 3 styles

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)
• 7 stamens
• 8 stamens
• 9 stamens
• 10 stamens
• more than 10 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)
• 3 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 3-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 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

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole 25% - 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Linear or filiform
• Oblong
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Crenate
• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Pubescent
• Stellate (star shaped)

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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• 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

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

Other

• Puerto Rico
• Virgin Islands

• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 19
• Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 78
• Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 113
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 7 CVNGS
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 119
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 298
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 211
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 115
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 191
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 22
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 194
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X