Flower Color

• Blue
• White

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

• Axillary cluster
• Terminal spike

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)

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 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

• 2 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)
• 4 mm (.16 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)

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

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

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Elliptic
• Linear or filiform

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire
• Ciliate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Hirsute
• Pubescent

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

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 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
• Arid

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

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan

• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 162
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 169
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 324
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X