Weed Information: Diodia virginiana (buttonweed, Virginia)
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Diodia virginiana (buttonweed, Virginia)

Family: Rubiaceae

Description

A pubescent perennial with opposite, sessile leaves. The flower has 4 white, pointed petals at the tip of a long narrow tube.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Solitary, axillary
Number of Petals
  • 4 petals
Petal Separation
  • United > 75% of length
Petal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 4 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
  • 2 styles
Number of Stamens
  • 4 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens 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
  • Inferior (epigynous)
Fruit Type
  • Schizocarp
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
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)
  • 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)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Elliptic
  • Lanceolate
  • Oblanceolate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Pubescent
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
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Spreading ascending
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
  • 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
  • Semi-aquatic
  • Seasonally saturated
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Ridged
  • Square
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Oklahoma

  • Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 64
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 11 DIQVI
  • Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 58
  • Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 175
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 74
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 300
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 273
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 280
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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