Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Red-purple
• White

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

• Cyme (simple or branched)
• Panicle
• Solitary, axillary

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Bilobed

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.8 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length
• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 3 styles

Number of Stamens

• 10 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

• 3 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 3-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.80 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Arcuate
• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
• Petiole < 25% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 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)

• Oblanceolate
• Oblong
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acuminate (attenuate)
• Clasping

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glandular
• Hirsute
• Pubescent
• Spiny or prickly

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

• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 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 unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous
• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Alaska
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Newfoundland
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

Other

• District of Columbia
• Greenland

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol60Pg1243
• Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 40
• Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 60
• Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 164
• Common Weed Seedlings of the United States and Canada, 1978 Coop Ext. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, See page: 9
• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 97
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 100
• Identification Guide to the Weeds of Quebec, 1999 (ISBN# 2-89457-174-7) See page: 29
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 50
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 69
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 78
• Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 91
• Some Important Michigan Weeds, 1951 Mich. Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #304, See page: 99
• South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 87
• South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 107
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 11 MELNO
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 210, 213
• Weeds of Alberta, 1983 Alberta Environmental Centre Agdex 640-4, See page: 143
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 184
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 581
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 65
• Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 126
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 246
• Weeds of New Jersey, 1929 New Jersey Ag. Exp. Station Circular #219, See page: 24
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 178
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 78
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 118
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 198
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 55
• Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 326-27, 329
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 153
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X