Weed Information: Glechoma hederacea (ivy, ground)
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Glechoma hederacea (ivy, ground)

Family: Lamiaceae

Description

This creeping species makes an excellent ground cover but is very aggressive and often becomes weedy in lawns. It is known to most gardeners as `gill-over-the-ground` and is commonly brought in for identification. The spelling for the genus is often given as Glecoma.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Blue
  • Blue-purple
  • Purple
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)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.8 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 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
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 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
  • Palmate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
  • Petiole > 75% 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)
  • Orbicular (round)
  • Reniform (kidney)
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Crenate
  • Dentate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Cordate
  • Rounded
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Hirsute
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
  • Aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Prostrate
  • Spreading ascending
Plant Height at Maturity
  • < 1 cm (< .40 inch)
  • 1 - 5 cm (.40 - 2.0 inches)
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
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
  • Fibrous
  • Rhizomatous
  • Rooting at the nodes
  • Stoloniferous

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
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Newfoundland
  • Saskatchewan
Other
  • District of Columbia
  • St. Pierre and Miquelon
  • Labrador

  • Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 87
  • 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: 312
  • Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 93
  • Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 89a
  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 243
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 127
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 83
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 153
  • Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 105
  • Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 175
  • South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 141
  • South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 118
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 168
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 369, 370
  • Weeds of Alberta, 1983 Alberta Environmental Centre Agdex 640-4, See page: 95
  • Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 39
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 374
  • Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 144
  • Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 125
  • Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 206
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 322
  • Weeds of Nova Scotia, 1986 (ISBN# 0-88871-063) See page: 36
  • Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 130
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 230
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 150
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 234
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 246,260
  • 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: 251
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 217
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 250
  • Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 76
  • Wildly Successful Plants, A Handbook of North American Weeds, 1977 (ISBN# 0-02-528850-4) See page: 28, 227
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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