Flower Color

• Blue
• Blue-purple
• Purple

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

• Axillary spikes
• Terminal spike

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular
• Flowers slightly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

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

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 4 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
• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Nutlets, 4

Fruit Length at Maturity

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

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
• 2 mm (.08 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 < 25% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)

Leaf Width

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

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate
• Serrate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Hirsute
• Scabrous (like sand paper)

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

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)

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)
• 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Semi-aquatic
• Seasonally saturated

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Square

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem unbranched
• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Fibrous

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
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan

Other

• District of Columbia

• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 249
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 124
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 79
• Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 152
• Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 105
• Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 149
• South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 137
• South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 160
• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 165
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 365, 366
• Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 99
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 363, 364
• Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 122
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 541
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 305
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 148
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 142
• Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 42
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 248
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 592
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 588
• Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 73
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X