Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)

Number of Sepals

• sepals lacking

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)

Number of Carpels

• 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Fruit Type

• Spore

Leaf Arrangement

• All basal
• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Pinnately dissected

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils present

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

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

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• > 6 dm (> 2.0 feet)

Leaf Width

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

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Parted

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)

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)

• Climbing vine

Plant Height at Maturity

• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
• 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
• 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)
• 2 - 2.5 meters (6.6 - 8.3 feet)
• 2.5 - 5 meters (8.3 - 16.6 feet)
• more than 5.0 meters (16.6 33 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Rhizomatous

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Hawaii

Other

• Puerto Rico

• Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests 2003, USFS, SRS 62, See page: 58, 59
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x