Flower Color

• Blue
• Blue-purple
• White

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

• Cyme (simple or branched)

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Rounded

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)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 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)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals
• 6 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 5 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

• 2 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Berry, yellow\orange\brown

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

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

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 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)

• Ovate
• Pinnately lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Lobed

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Cordate
• Rounded
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Canescent
• Pubescent
• Spiny or prickly
• Stellate (star shaped)

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

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 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
• Arid

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Rhizomatous

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• South Carolina
• Texas
• California
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma

• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 150
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 392
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1538
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 296
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X