Weed Information: Dysphania pumilio (goosefoot, Tasmanian)
Back to Plant List

Dysphania pumilio (goosefoot, Tasmanian)

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Description

This species is similar to Jerusalem-oak goosefoot (C. botrys) but can be easily distinguished by its axillary (rather than terminal) inflorescences.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Green
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • United at base < 25% length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 2 styles
Number of Stamens
  • 1 stamen
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
  • 1 carpel
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Utricle
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
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 < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Oblong
  • Ovate
  • Pinnately lobed
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Lobed
  • Undulate (sinuate, repand)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glandular
  • Sericeous or villous (silky)
  • Villous or sericious (silky)
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)
  • Prostrate
  • Spreading ascending
Plant Height at Maturity
  • < 1 cm (< .40 inch)
  • 1 - 5 cm (.40 - 2.0 inches)
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

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

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Hawaii
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Utah
  • Washington
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
Other
  • District of Columbia

  • California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 152
  • Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 28
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 151
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 616
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
Back to Plant List