Flower Color

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

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

• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

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

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 4 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

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 2-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

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

• Opposite

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)

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Linear or filiform

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Clasping

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

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

• Annual

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

• Mesic
• Arid

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• California
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Washington

Other

• District of Columbia

Canadian Province or Territory

• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Alberta

• California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 240
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 393-4, 405
• Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 60
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 397
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1471
• Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 185
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 286
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 43
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 304
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 280
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X