Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Blue-purple
• Purple
• Red-purple
• White

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

• Corymb
• Terminal raceme
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

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
• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Nutlets, 4

Fruit Length at Maturity

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

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Arcuate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% total length

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

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Oval
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire
• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Puberulent
• Pubescent

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 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

• Square

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Rhizomatous

US State

• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• North Carolina
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Vermont
• California
• Oregon
• Washington

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec

• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 370, 378
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 139
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X