Flower Color

• Purple
• Red-purple

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

• Corymb
• Cyme (simple or branched)
• Panicle

Number of Petals

• 4 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Pointed

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

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)

Number of Stamens

• 4 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

• 2 carpels
• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)
• Halfway (perigynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 1-celled
• Capsule, 2-celled
• Capsule, 3-celled
• Capsule, > 3-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Foliaceous < 2 mm (< .08 inch) long
• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• 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

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Elliptic
• Lanceolate
• Oblong
• Oval
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Lower leaf surface more hairy
• Puberulent

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Woody

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 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

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• 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
• 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
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Nebraska

Other

• District of Columbia

Canadian Province or Territory

• Ontario
• Quebec

• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X