Flower Color

• Red (or pink)
• Blue
• Blue-purple
• Purple

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

• Axillary racemes

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

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

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

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

• 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

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

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 4 mm (.16 inch)
• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Compound odd pinnate > 8 leaflets

Stipules

• Foliaceous 2-4 mm (.08 - .16 in) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils present

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)

Leaf Width

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)

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)

• Spreading ascending
• Climbing vine

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)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• 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
• 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
• California
• Idaho
• Montana
• 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

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol:66Pg.711
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 290
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 833
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 110
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 238
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 101
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X