Flower Color

• Yellow
• Blue
• White
• Multi-colored

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

• Head
• Panicle

Number of Petals

• 5 petals
• more than 10 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

Number of Sepals

• sepals lacking
• more than 10 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)
• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)
• 5 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Anthers united, syngynoecious

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Achene

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)

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
• Petiole 25% - 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Oblanceolate
• Oblong
• Obovate
• Orbicular (round)
• Oval

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Hirsute
• Hispid or setose
• 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

• Annual

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
• 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

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

• Fibrous
• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• 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
• California
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• 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

• Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 402
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 188
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 99
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 228
• Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 191
• Some Important Michigan Weeds, 1951 Mich. Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #304, See page: 221
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 457, 458
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 462
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 207
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 159
• Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 18
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 129
• Weeds of New Jersey, 1929 New Jersey Ag. Exp. Station Circular #219, See page: 29
• Weeds of Nova Scotia, 1986 (ISBN# 0-88871-063) See page: 24
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 90
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 211
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 118,136
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 183
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 11
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 311
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X