Flower Color

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

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

• Solitary, axillary
• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 4 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Bilobed

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

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

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 4 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 8 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

• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, > 3-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 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)
• 6.0 cm (2.4 inches)
• 7.0 cm (2.8 inches)
• 8.0 cm (3.2 inches)

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
• Alternate below, opposite above
• Opposite
• Opposite below, alternate above

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)

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

Leaf Width

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Elliptic
• Lanceolate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)

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)

• 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)
• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• Semi-aquatic
• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Rhizomatous
• Tap Root

US State

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• 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
• Yukon
• Northwest Territory

Other

• District of Columbia
• St. Pierre and Miquelon
• Labrador

• California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 186
• Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 36
• Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 91
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 955
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 254
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X