Flower Color

• Blue
• Blue-purple
• Purple
• White

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

• Axillary cluster
• Cyme (simple or branched)

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length

Petal Tip

• Pointed

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)
• 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% 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
• Anthers united, syngynoecious

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 2 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Berry, black
• Berry, green
• Berry, red
• Berry, yellow\orange\brown
• Capsule, 2-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 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

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

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Oblong

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

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

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT
• Spines on leaves or stems

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

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)
• 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

• Rhizomatous
• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Utah
• Washington
• Nebraska

Other

• Puerto Rico

• An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 262
• California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 60
• Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 87
• Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 93
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 5 SOLEL
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 389
• Weeds and Poisonous Plants of Wyoming and Utah 1987 (ISBN 0-941570-06-1) See page: 114
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 389
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1538
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 130
• Weeds of Crops in Southern Arizona, 1958 Arizona Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #296, See page: 61
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 299
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 160
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 297
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 41
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 572
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 566
• Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 79
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X