Flower Color

• Red (or pink)

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

• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 4 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular
• Flowers slightly irregular

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)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 4 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base
• 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

• 8 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

• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, > 3-celled
• Nut

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT 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)
• Petiole < 25% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Elliptic
• Lanceolate
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Undulate (sinuate, repand)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

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

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous
• Semi-woody

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)
• 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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• 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
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• Ohio
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Indiana
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 220
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 111
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 320
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 315
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 970
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 371
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 396
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 396
• Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 61
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x