Annual Broadleaf Weed Identification

Gerald R. Miller and Oliver E. Strand

Copyright ©  2002  Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Descriptions of Annual Broadleaf Weed Seedlings

Buckwheat, wild

Leaves heart-shaped, entire (smooth) margins, alternate, bearing ochrea at base of petiole; flowers small, greenish; seed triangular; plants viny and wining.

Buckwheat, wild.

Buffalobur

Leaves deeply lobed, alternate, petioles and stem prickly with yellow spines; flowers yellow; fruit a berry-like capsule beset with long yellow spines; plant erect or trailing.

Buffalobur.

Cocklebur, common

Leaves alternate, coarsely toothed or lobed, rough; flowers greenish; fruit a spiny bur containing two seeds; plant erect.

Cocklebur, common.

Kochia

Leaves small, linear, densely hairy; flowers small, greenish; fruit small, one-seeded; stem often turning reddish in fall; plant erect, bushy.

Kochia.

Lambsquarters, common

Leaves alternate, white mealy, toothed; flowers gray-green in small round clusters; fruits small, one-seeded; plant erect, much branched.

Lambsquarters, common.

Marshelder

Leaves opposite, long petiole, coarsely toothed or lobed; flowers small, greenish-yellow, in clusters; fruits one-seeded; plants erect.

Photo 6. Marshelder.

Mustard, wild

Leaves alternate, rough hairy, toothed or lobed; flowers yellow, with 4 petals; fruit a many-seeded cylindrical capsule; plants erect or trailing.

Mustard, wild.

Nightshade, black

Leaves alternate, coarsely toothed; flowers white to lavender with yellow centers; fruit a greenish berry turning black at maturity; plants erect or trailing.

Nightshade, black.

Pigweed

Leaves alternate, long petiole, leaf margins slightly toothed; flowers small, greenish, subtended by bristles; seeds black, shiny; plant erect; tap root often reddish.

Pigweed.

Ragweed, common

Leaves deeply lobed, fern-like, alternate, leaves and stems densely white, hairy; flowers small yellowish-green, separate male and female flowers on same plant; seeds small, crown-shaped.

Ragweed, common.

Ragweed, giant

Leaves deeply three-to-five lobed, opposite except at top of plant; flowers small, greenish-yellow, separate male and female flowers on same plant; seed 1/4 inch or more across, crown-shaped.

Ragweed, giant.

Smartweed, Pennsylvania

Leaves alternate, smooth, entire (smooth) margins, ochrea at base of leaf petiole; stem nodes swollen; flowers in pink raceme-like clusters; seed shiny, lens-shaped; plants erect or trailing.

Smartweed, Pennsylvania.

Sunflower, wild

Leaves alternate, long petiole, coarsely toothed, rough hairy; flowers yellow in large heads with dark center; seeds large, oblong, many per head; plants erect, tall.

Sunflower, wild.

Thistle, Russian

Leaves narrow, thread-like, spine tipped, alternate; flowers small, grayish-green; seed coiled; stem often streaked with red.

Thistle, Russian.

Velvetleaf

Leaves alternate, large, heart-shaped, velvety soft hairy, stem pubescent, plant has strong odor; flowers yellow; fruit a button-like capsule with numerous heart-shaped seeds; plant erect, much branched.

Velvetleaf.

Gerald R. Miller extension agronomist

Oliver E. Strand former extension agronomist

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