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 Leaves http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/7919630, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Plant http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/7652421, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Annual (in warmer zones may be a short-lived perennial); grows upright, many small side branches; round stems, mixture of green, reddish with light brown veins; small green flowers grow singly or in dense head-like clusters on long, slender spikes.
Identification notes: Leaf blades rounded to lance-like, margins smooth, toothed or irregularly lobed, usually highly gland-dotted, not hairy; flower clusters leafy; flowers without petals, solitary or in few-flowered head-like clusters along stems; seeds mostly horizontal.
Height:
To almost 5 feet
Habitat Description: Found in the gravelly and sandy soils of cultivated fields, vacant lots, waste places, river bottoms, dry lake beds, roadsides and stream-sides. Sometimes found as an invasive weed in flower beds.
Plant Communities:
Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: Below 4600 feet
Color:
Green
Shape:
Inconspicuous in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jul - Sep
Description:
The upper stems and side stems terminate in spikes (up to 1 foot long) of stalkless flowers. The small flowers are often in dense ball-like clusters (glomerules) along these spikes. Each 1/4 inch wide flower has 5 green leaf-like sepals and no petals.
Leaf Color:
Green, yellow-green, red-green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Other
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves up to 4 inches long, 1-1/2 inches wide. Leaf bases are always wedge-shaped but the margins vary even on the same plant from smooth to lobed to toothed. Stems and leaves dotted with numerous oil-secreting glands giving off a strong bitter scent.
Fruit Color: Green
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Egg-shaped, 1-seeded, thin-walled fruit is enclosed within 5 small oval leaf-like sepals that curve inward and are persistent (remain attached). Lack of white-spotting (white-mealy) and absence of hair on the sepals are helpful identifying features.
Seed Notes: Seeds are usually horizontal, at times vertical, reddish-brown to very dark brown (almost black), shiny, to 1/16 inch wide, may be egg-shaped to rounded with a wrinkled to smooth surface and no margins.
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