Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• White

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

• Axillary spikes
• Head
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)

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

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 10 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens NOT attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments united, diadelphous

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 1-celled
• Legume

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Trifoliolate (3 leaflets)

Stipules

• Foliaceous 4-10 mm (.16 - .40 in) long
• Foliaceous > 1 cm (> .40 inch) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
• Petiole < 25% total length
• Petiole 25% - 75% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 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 or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Acuminate (attenuate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Puberulent
• Pubescent

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

• 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated
• Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne

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

• Tap Root

US State

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

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Newfoundland

Other

• District of Columbia
• St. Pierre and Miquelon

• Some Important Michigan Weeds, 1951 Mich. Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #304, See page: 135
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 280, 286
• Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 43
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 810
• Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 145
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 338
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 234, 266
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 99
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X