Flower Color

• Blue
• Blue-purple
• Purple
• White
• Multi-colored

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

• Solitary, terminal

Number of Petals

• 3 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United at base only (<25% length)

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
• 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
• 5.0 cm (2.0 inches) or more

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
• 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
• 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)
• > 5.0 cm (> 2.0 inches)

Number of Sepals

• 3 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 3 styles

Number of Stamens

• 3 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

• 3 carpels

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 3-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
• 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
• 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.80 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• All basal

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Parallel

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole absent (leaf sessile)

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)

Leaf Width

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Linear or filiform

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Clasping

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Glaucous

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

• Perennial

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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leafless
• Stem leaves greatly reduced

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Rhizomatous

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Alberta

US State

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 76
• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 66
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 856
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 51
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 354
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 352
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x