Weed Information: Sida spinosa (sida, prickly)
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Sida spinosa (sida, prickly)

Family: Malvaceae

Description

This species can be readily identified by the small, spine-tipped tubercule (lump or bump) at the base of the mature leaves. This is a low annual with soft, hairy leaves and light yellow flowers.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow-orange
  • Yellow
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Solitary, axillary
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Bilobed
  • Square
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
  • 5 styles
Number of Stamens
  • more than 10 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments united, monodelphous

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 5 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Schizocarp
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Palmate
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
  • Oblong
  • Ovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Crenate
  • Serrate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Cordate
  • Rounded
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Floccose
  • Pubescent
  • Sericeous or villous (silky)
  • Villous or sericious (silky)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines on leaves or stems
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • 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)
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
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Hawaii
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Iowa
  • Oklahoma
  • Nebraska
Other
  • Puerto Rico
  • Virgin Islands
  • District of Columbia
Canadian Province or Territory
  • Ontario

  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 264
  • 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: 24
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 82
  • Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 74
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 46
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 122
  • Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 123
  • Some Weedy Plants of North Carolina, 1955 North Carolina Ag. Ext. Circular # 390, See page: 35
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 9 SIDSP
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 55
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 312, 313
  • Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 84
  • Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 124
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 244
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 126
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 262
  • Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 234 - 235
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 234
  • Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 32
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 210
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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