Flower Color

• White

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

• Head

Number of Petals

• 6 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Laciniate
• Pointed

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

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

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• 6 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)

Number of Styles

• Styles lacking (male flowers only)
• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• stamens lacking (female flowers only)
• 6 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

• 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
• 3 carpels
• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Inferior (epigynous)

Fruit Type

• Schizocarp

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 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

• 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)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Elliptic
• Lanceolate
• Oblanceolate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire
• Undulate (sinuate, repand)
• Ciliate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• 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

• Annual

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

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

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Jersey
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Maryland

Other

• Puerto Rico

• Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 356
• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 27
• Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 54
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 11 RCHSC
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 300
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 275
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 39
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 282
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X