Flower Color

• Yellow

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

• Axillary racemes
• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 4 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

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

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 4 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 6 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

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 2-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
• 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
• 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
• 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)

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

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

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

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Oblong
• Ovate
• Pinnately lobed
• Runcinate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Entire
• Lobed
• Parted

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Cordate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Hirsute

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)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated
• Entire plant mobilized (tumbleweeds)

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Connecticut
• Florida
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Hawaii
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Utah

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 152
• California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 5
• Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 54
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 12 SYSIR
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 260
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 238, 239
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 537
• Weeds of Crops in Southern Arizona, 1958 Arizona Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #296, See page: 47
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 136
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 238
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 236
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X