Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Blue
• Blue-purple
• Purple

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

• Scorpioid

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.8 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United at base < 25% length
• United from 25% - 75% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

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)

• Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 2 carpels
• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Nutlets, 4

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 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)

Leaf Width

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Oblanceolate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Hispid or setose
• Spiny or prickly

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

• Biennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

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

Plant Height at Maturity

• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic
• Arid

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

US State

• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Alaska
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Newfoundland
• Saskatchewan

Other

• District of Columbia
• St. Pierre and Miquelon

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol:82Pg.235
• Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 83
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 119
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 79
• Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 99
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 170
• Some Important Michigan Weeds, 1951 Mich. Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #304, See page: 167
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 357, 358
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 141
• Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 226
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 111
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 127
• Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 76 - 77
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 245
• Wildly Successful Plants, A Handbook of North American Weeds, 1977 (ISBN# 0-02-528850-4) See page: 28, 221
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X