Flower Color

• White

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

• Axillary cluster
• Solitary, axillary

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)
• 4 petals
• 5 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)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)

Number of Sepals

• sepals lacking

Flower Sex

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

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 3 styles

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)
• 1 stamen
• 4 stamens
• 5 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

• 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
• 3 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 3-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 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

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Arcuate
• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
• Petiole < 25% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)

Leaf Width

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Elliptic
• Linear or filiform
• Oblanceolate
• Oval

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Entire
• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Rounded (obtuse)
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Sericeous or villous (silky)
• Villous or sericious (silky)

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice milky

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Annual

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

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Hawaii
• Maryland
• Arizona
• New Mexico
• Utah

Other

• Puerto Rico
• Virgin Islands

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 204
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 7 EPHHS
• Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 124
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 187
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X