Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Purple
• Red-purple

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

• Axillary spikes
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 5 petals
• 6 petals
• 7 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 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)

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

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals
• 6 sepals
• 7 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length
• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 8 stamens
• 9 stamens
• 10 stamens
• more than 10 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

• 2 carpels

Ovary Position

• Halfway (perigynous)
• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 2-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

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

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate
• Opposite
• Whorled 3 per node

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Arcuate
• 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 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire
• Ciliate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Auriculate
• Clasping
• Cordate
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Puberulent
• Pubescent
• Scabrous (like sand paper)

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

• 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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Aquatic
• Semi-aquatic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• Round
• Square

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced
• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Rhizomatous

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• 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

Other

• District of Columbia
• St. Pierre and Miquelon

• Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 237
• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol72Pg1305
• Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 75
• More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 279
• Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 81
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 147
• Pennsylvania Field Guide, Common Invasive Plants in Riparian Areas, 2004 See Page: 11
• Selected Weeds of Oregon, 1985 and 1989 Supplement (s) Oregon State Dept. of Agriculture, See page: 46
• South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 28/29
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 318
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 908
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 354
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 238
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 115
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 254
• Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 224 - 225
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 226
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 380
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 378
• Wildly Successful Plants, A Handbook of North American Weeds, 1977 (ISBN# 0-02-528850-4) See page: 3, 29, 239
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X