Flower Color

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

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

• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base
• 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)

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 at base < 25% length
• United from 25% - 75% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 10 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens NOT attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments united, monodelphous

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 1-celled
• Legume

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Compound palmate > 5 leaflets

Stipules

• Foliaceous 4-10 mm (.16 - .40 in) long
• Foliaceous > 1 cm (> .40 inch) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Palmate
• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole 25% - 75% total length
• Petiole > 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Sericeous or villous (silky)
• Villous or sericious (silky)

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, spherical (bushy)

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

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced
• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Tap Root

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Alberta

US State

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Montana
• Nevada
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming

• Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 58, 60
• Weeds of Alberta, 1983 Alberta Environmental Centre Agdex 640-4, See page: 81
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X