Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Purple
• Red-purple
• White
• Multi-colored

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

• Axillary cluster

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.8 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 4 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens 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)

Fruit Type

• Nutlets, 4

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

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

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like
• Fruit or seed bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• 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 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Crenate
• Dentate
• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Rounded
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Hirsute
• Lower leaf surface more hairy
• 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)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 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

• Square

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• California
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Washington

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Newfoundland
• Saskatchewan
• Northwest Territory

Other

• St. Pierre and Miquelon
• Labrador

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol:67Pg.787
• Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 86
• Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 39
• Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 310
• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 21
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 129
• Identification Guide to the Weeds of Quebec, 1999 (ISBN# 2-89457-174-7) See page: 110
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 177
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 369, 380
• Weeds of Alberta, 1983 Alberta Environmental Centre Agdex 640-4, See page: 97
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 149
• Weeds of Nova Scotia, 1986 (ISBN# 0-88871-063) See page: 44
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 198
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 133
• Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 248 - 249
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X