Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Yellow
• Purple
• Multi-colored

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

• Axillary racemes

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.8 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

• 10 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens NOT attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments united, diadelphous

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 1-celled
• Legume

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1.0 dm (4.0 inches)
• > 1.5 dm (> 6.0 inches)
• 1.5 dm (6.0 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Compound odd pinnate > 8 leaflets

Stipules

• Foliaceous 4-10 mm (.16 - .40 in) long
• Foliaceous > 1 cm (> .40 inch) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)

Leaf Width

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

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

• 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)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Semi-aquatic
• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Maryland
• Arizona
• California
• Oklahoma

Canadian Province or Territory

• Ontario

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 186
• Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 218
• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 22
• Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 28
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 8 SEBEX
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 47, 290
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 267
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 799
• Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 118
• Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 143
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 207
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 31
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 180
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X