Flower Color

• Blue

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

• Scorpioid
• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 5 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

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

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)

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Linear or filiform

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Hirsute
• Hispid or setose
• Scabrous (like sand paper)

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT
• Spines on flowers or fruits only

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Annual

Growth Habit (while flowering)

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

Plant Height at Maturity

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic
• Arid

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced
• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• 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
• Yukon
• Northwest Territory

Other

• District of Columbia
• Labrador

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol:64Pg.375
• Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 84
• Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 44
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 120
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 78
• South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 134
• South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 157
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 360, 361
• Weeds of Alberta, 1983 Alberta Environmental Centre Agdex 640-4, See page: 23
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 359
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 448
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 143
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 121
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 187
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 146
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 129
• Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 78 - 79
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X