Flower Color

• Green
• Purple
• White
• Multi-colored

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

• Axillary racemes
• Head
• Panicle

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)
• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Pointed

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)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Number of Sepals

• sepals lacking
• 8 sepals
• 9 sepals
• 10 sepals
• more than 10 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

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)

• Anthers united, syngynoecious

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Achene

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate
• Opposite
• Opposite below, alternate above

Leaf Type

• Pinnately dissected
• 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

• < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Linear or filiform

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire
• Parted

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Glandular
• Punctate

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Aromatic

Life Cycle

• Annual
• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
• 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
• 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Hawaii
• Maryland
• Oklahoma

• Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 404
• Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 22
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 13 EEPCP
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 219
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 461, 462
• Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 117-119
• Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 95
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 293
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 140
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 76
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 12
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X