Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• White

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

• Axillary spikes
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 0 (no petals)
• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United at base only (<25% length)

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

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

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• sepals lacking
• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 2 styles
• 3 styles

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

• 2 carpels
• 3 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Achene

Fruit Length at Maturity

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

Fruit Width at Maturity

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

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Membranous, entire
• Membranous, laciniate

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

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

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• 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)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

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

• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• 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
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Other

• District of Columbia

Canadian Province or Territory

• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Newfoundland

• Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 327
• Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 124
• Common Weed Seedlings of the North Central States, 2001 North Central Regional Extension Publication # 607 See page: 10
• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 5
• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 30
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 56
• Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 94
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 60
• More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 312
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 50
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 54
• Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 71
• Some Weedy Plants of North Carolina, 1955 North Carolina Ag. Ext. Circular # 390, See page: 17
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 6 POLPY
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 37, 40
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 170, 171
• Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 41, 42
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1326
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 56
• Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 156
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 482
• Weeds of New Jersey, 1929 New Jersey Ag. Exp. Station Circular #219, See page: 20
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 263
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 52
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 102
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 280
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 31
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 260
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 35
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 108
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X