Flower Color

• Blue
• Blue-purple
• White
• Multi-colored

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

• Solitary, axillary
• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 4 petals
• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United at base only (<25% length)
• United from 25% - 75% length
• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers slightly irregular
• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

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

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)
• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 4 sepals

Sepal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United at base < 25% length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 2 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

• Capsule, 2-celled

Fruit Length at Maturity

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

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate
• Opposite
• Opposite below, alternate above

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Arcuate
• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

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

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• < 5 mm (< .20 inch)
• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)

Leaf Width

• 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Orbicular (round)
• Ovate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Crenate
• Dentate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Cordate
• Truncate

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)

• Prostrate
• Spreading ascending
• Erect, columnar (narrow)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 1 - 5 cm (.40 - 2.0 inches)
• 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

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

• 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
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Nebraska

Canadian Province or Territory

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

Other

• District of Columbia

• California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 158
• Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 65
• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 265
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 195
• Selected Weeds of Oregon, 1985 and 1989 Supplement (s) Oregon State Dept. of Agriculture, See page: s40
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 399, 402
• Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 108
• Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 62
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1486
• Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 178
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 290
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 179
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 248, 308
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 153
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 286
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 272
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 558
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 552
• Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 83
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X