Weed Information: Froelichia floridana (snake-cotton, field)
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Froelichia floridana (snake-cotton, field)

Family: Amaranthaceae

Description

An erect columnar annual with terminal, cone shaped, dense clusters of small flowers without petals. The outer parts of the flowers densely wooly. The leaves are opposite and very hairy. This species is not particularly weedy.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Green
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary racemes
  • Axillary spikes
  • Head
  • Terminal raceme
  • Terminal spike
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
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)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • United > 75% of length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 5 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments united, monodelphous

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 1 carpel
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Utricle
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
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)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Elliptic
  • Oblanceolate
  • Oblong
  • Spatulate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Canescent
  • Sericeous or villous (silky)
  • Tomentose
  • Villous or sericious (silky)
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
  • 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)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
  • Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne
Moisture Regime
  • 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
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • Ohio
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Minnesota
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
  • South Dakota
  • Nebraska

  • Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 24
  • More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 128
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 26
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 40
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 101
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
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