Barnyardgrass Echinochloa crus-galli - Seneca High School

Barnyardgrass 

Echinochloa crus-galli 

Life Cycle � annual grass, reproducing 

by seed; commonly found in low, wet 

areas. 

Seedling leaves with pointed tips are 

hairless and may be slightly red at the 

base. 

Ligule is absent and auricle is absent. 

Sheaths are flattened; smooth; purpletinged 

base. 

Blades are smooth; finely veined; leaves 

are rolled in the budshoot.

Bitter nightshade 

Solanum dulcamara 

Life Cycle � perennial, reproducing by seeds 

and rooting of prostrate stems. 

Cotyledons are elliptic or ovate, without leaf 

stalks. 

Leaves are dark green to purplish heart-shaped; 

2 to 5 inches long, with one to several basal 

lobes or leaflets; alternate with medium length 

petioles. 

Stems are slender; vinelike; mildly woody; 

prostrate or twining on low vegetation; 2 to 10 

feet long. 

Flowers are purple; star-shaped with prominent 

yellow or orange anthers; produce bright red 

berries containing many round, flattened seeds; 

toxic.

Broadleaf plantain 

Plantago major 

Life Cycle � perennial, reproducing by seed. 

Cotyledons are spatula-shaped; cotyledons 

wither soon after appearance of first leaves. 

Leaves are basal; ovate; 3 to 7 inches long 

with wavy margins narrowing abruptly to 

petiole with several veins running length of 

leaf. 

Flowers are small and inconspicuous, forming 

on a dense, elongated spike inflorescence; 

located at the end of a stem 5 to 15 inches 

long.

Buckhorn plantain 

Plantago lanceolata 

Life Cycle � perennial, reproducing by seed; 

found in lawns, pastures, and waste places. 

Cotyledons are linear and smooth; resemble 

grass leaves. 

Leaves are basal; long ovate or lanceolate; 4 

to 12 inches long with several veins running 

length of leaf. 

Flowers form on a dense, cylindrical spike at 

the end of erect, leafless stems 4 to 10 

inches long.

Bull thistle 

Cirsium vulgare 

Life Cycle � biennial, reproducing by seed; 

found in pastures and uncultivated areas; does 

not survive cultivation. 

Cotyledons are round to spatulate, hairless 

and fleshy. 

Leaves have spines on lobes; are densely 

hairy; after stem elongates, leaf bases run 

down stem. 

Stems do not elongate the first year; 

thereafter, 3 to 5 feet tall; branched; somewhat 

hairy with spines. 

Flower heads are compact (1 to 2 inches 

across); rose to reddish purple.

Burdock 

Arctium minus 

Life Cycle � biennial, reproducing by seed 

only; found in waste places where soil is not 

disturbed; not common in cultivated fields. 

Cotyledons are dull green and elliptical; stem 

below cotyledons is often purplish green. 

Leaves are large, heart-shaped, hairy in basal 

crown the first year and alternate on erect 

coarse stem in second year. 

Stems are 3 to 10 feet tall the second year. 

Flowers are purple-red disc flowers 

surrounded by hooked bracts, which later form 

a burr about ½ inch in diameter.

Canada thistle 

Cirsium arvense 

Life Cycle � perennial, spreading by seeds and 

creeping roots; found in all crops. 

Cotyledons are dull green, relatively thin, without 

petioles and without hairs. 

Leaves are alternate; clasping; thick with bristly 

hairs on upper and lower surfaces; margins 

slightly lobed and wavy with each lobe ending in 

a sharp spine. 

Stems are hollow; grooved; branching at top 

becoming increasingly hairy. 

Flowers heads are compact, about 3/4 inch in 

diameter or less; lavender color. 

Root system extends several feet deep and 

horizontally; frequent new shoots; fleshy.

Carpetweed 

Mollugo verticillata 

Life Cycle � annual, reproducing by seed 

only; a late-starting, quick-growing summer 

annual that quickly covers bare fertile soil. 

Cotyledons are oblong, thick, and hairless; 

the stem below the cotyledons is often brown. 

Leaves are small; dark green; lanceolate; 

widest near apex, laying flat; 5 or 6 each in a 

circle radiating from stem joints. 

Stems are prostrate; mat-forming; radiating 

from root crown; not rooting at nodes. 

Flowers are very small; white; five petaled in 

clusters of 2 to 5 on stalks from leaf axils.

Cheat 

Bromus secalinus 

Life Cycle � annual or winter annual grass, 

reproducing by seed; found in meadows, grain 

fields, and waste places. 

Seedling leaves are soft-haired and twisted 

with a prominent midvein. 

Leaves are 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide; sparsely hairy 

on stems 10 to 30 inches tall. 

Stems are tufted and covered with silky hairs. 

Flowers are borne in a panicle inflorescence; 

seeds bear short (1/8 to 1/4 inch) beard or 

none at all.

Chicory 

Cichorium intybus 


found along roads and in pastures; seldom 

thrives in cultivated fields. 

Cotyledons are oval; widest at the apex and 

tapering toward a short petiole. 

Leaves are oblanceolate; toothed or pinnately 

parted, with short petioles along branches 

and forming rosette at base; upper leaves 

become reduced, sessile, and often entire. 

Stems are smooth; erect; branched; 1 to 6 feet 

tall. 

Flowers are bright blue or purple, sometimes 

white; ray flowers 1 to 1 1/2 inches across; 

located at branch ends or axils of muchreduced 

upper leaves.

Common chickweed 

Stellaria media 

Life Cycle � annual or winter annual, 

reproducing by seed or creeping stems that 

root at nodes; found in lawns, gardens, alfalfa, 

strawberry beds, and nurseries. 

Cotyledons are light green and ovate with 

pointed tips. 

Leaves are small; 1 to 1 1/2 inches long; 

opposite; petioled; upper leaves lack petioles; 

broadly ovate; smooth; pointed at tips. 

Stems are creeping or ascending; branched; 

low and spreading 4 to 12 inches high. 

Flowers are white with five deeply notched 

petals.

Common cocklebur 

Xanthium strumarium 

Life Cycle � annual, reproducing by seed; 

common in cultivated fields. 

Cotyledons are fleshy, shiny, and 

lanceolate in shape; stem below cotyledons 

is purplish green. 

Leaves � first pair opposite, later alternate; 

rough; triangular in shape, with irregularly 

toothed margins. 

Petioles are long; hairy; purplish. 

Stems are rough-hairy; ridged; spotted.

Common lambsquarters 

Chenopodium album 


found in cultivated crops. 

Cotyledons are oblong to ovate and fleshy; 

the underside of cotyledons and the stem 

below are often pink to purple. 

Leaves � first two opposite, later alternate; 

ovate to triangular; smooth; usually whitemealy 

coated, especially on younger leaves; 

wavy-toothed margins; petioles are short; 

round; sometimes red-tinged; covered with 

white-mealy particles. 

Stems are smooth; grooved, often with red or 

light green striations.

Common mallow 

Malva neglecta 

Life Cycle � annual or biennial, reproducing 

by seed; common in turfgrass, landscapes, 

and nursery crops. 

Cotyledons are heart-shaped; 1/5 to 1/4 inch 

long; about 1/10 inch wide; with 3 main veins; 

hairy. 

Leaves are long-petioled; rounded; 3/4 to 3 

1/2 inches across with heart-shaped base; 

toothed or slightly lobed. 

Stems are spreading, semi-erect. 

Flowers are small; white to lavender; with 5 

petals producing a button-like fruit.

Common milkweed 

Asclepias syriaca 

Life Cycle � perennial, spreading by seeds 

and rootstocks; found in cultivated fields, 

pastures, open woods, and roadsides. 

Cotyledons are flat, dull green, oval (1/2 inch 

long); plants emerging from rootstocks lack 

cotyledons and are more robust than 

seedlings. 

Leaves are opposite; thick; elliptical; entire 

margins with pointed tip; prominent, whitish 

midvein; lower surface covered with short, 

white hairs. 

Stems are covered with short, downy hairs; 

exude milky juice when broken; usually no 

branching.

Common mullein 

Verbascum thapsus 

Life Cycle � biennial, reproducing by seed; 

found in pastures, fencerows, and roadsides. 

Cotyledons are spatula-shaped and slightly 

hairy. 

Leaves develop as a basal rosette during the 

first year of growth and then occur alternately 

along the flowering stem during the second year 

of growth; all leaves are covered in hairs. 

Stems are erect and unbranched; occur during 

the second year of growth; may reach as much 

as 6 feet in height; covered in hairs. 

Flowers occur in a dense spike at the end of the 

flowering stem; spikes are up to 20 inches long; 

flowers are yellow in color with five petals.

Common ragweed 

Ambrosia artemisiifolia 


found in old pastures, roadsides, and 

cultivated land. 

Cotyledons are thick and oval to spatulashaped 

with grooved petioles; cotyledons are 

purplish underneath. 

Leaves are opposite at base of plant, alternate 

above; hairy; deeply and irregularly lobed 

giving a lacy appearance; petioles are hairy, 

grooved, and widen into a V-shape at the 

stem. 

Stems are usually much branched and 

densely hairy.

Curly dock 

Rumex crispus 


found in pastures, roadsides, new hayfields 

and waste areas. 

Cotyledons are rounded at the apex and 

narrowed to the base (spatula-shaped); occur 

on petioles. 

Leaves mostly basal; short-petioled; 

lanceolate; 6 to 12 inches long with wavy or 

curly margins. 

Stems are smooth; erect; 1 to 4 feet tall; single 

or in groups from root crown. 

Flowers are small; appearing in dense spikelike 

terminal or axillary clusters; lacking petals; 

turning reddish-brown at maturity.

Daisy fleabane 

Erigeron strigosus 

Life Cycle � annual, winter annual or biennial, 

reproducing by seeds; found in old hayfields 

and pastures (sometimes in cultivated crops). 

Cotyledons are ovate and hairless. 

Leaves variable; lower leaves ovate; upper 

leaves lanceolate; prominently toothed; often 

tapering to form somewhat winged petiole. 

Stems 1 to 3 feet tall; hairy; clustered; 

branching at upper part. 

Flowers 1/2 to 1 inch across; white to 

lavender ray petals surrounding a yellow disc.

Dandelion 

Taraxacum officinale 

Life Cycle � perennial, reproducing from 

seed; found in lawns, gardens, and waste 

places. 

Cotyledons are oval to spatula-shaped with 

smooth margins. 

Leaves are dark green; deeply lobed; 

elongated; 3 to 10 inches long forming rosette 

from root crown; contain a milky juice. 

Flowers are bright yellow ray flowers; 1 to 2 

inches across; borne atop elongated, hollow 

stalks 1 to 24 inches tall.

Eastern black nightshade 

Solanum ptycanthum 


common in cultivated fields. 

Cotyledons are ovate with a pointed tip and a 

sparsely hairy surface; green on both surfaces. 

Leaves are alternate; ovate to oval with 

pointed tip; wavy-toothed margins; smooth to 

sparsely hairy above; first leaves are purpletinged 

on bottom surface. 

Petioles are sparsely hairy; reddish to purple. 

Stems are branching; weak; mostly smooth to 

slightly hairy.

Fall panicum 

Panicum dichotomiflorum 

Life Cycle � annual grass, reproducing by 

seed; found in gardens, cultivated fields, and 

waste places. 

Ligule has a fringe of hairs; sheaths are 

smooth to hairy at first near soil surface; later 

smooth with membranous margins; slightly 

purplish near base. 

Leaves are hairy on the underside at first, 

later smooth; dull above and glossy below; 

prominent midvein. 

Inflorescence is a panicle, which is more 

compact than that of witchgrass (P. capillare).

Field bindweed 

Convolvulus arvensis 

Life Cycle � perennial, reproducing by seeds 

and rootstocks; found in cultivated and 

noncultivated areas. 

Cotyledons are wavy, smooth, ovate, and 

shallowly indented on the tips; have long 

petioles; stem below the cotyledons is often red 

at or near the soil surface. 

Leaves are alternate and arrowhead-shaped with 

rounded tips and spreading basal lobes; stems 

are smooth, slender, and twining or trailing. 

Flowers are white or sometimes pink; funnelshaped; 

about 1 inch across. 

Roots are extensive, growing 20 to 30 feet deep; 

wide spreading.

Field pennycress 

Thlaspi arvense 

Life Cycle � annual or winter annual, 

reproducing by seed; found in small grains, 

legumes, and noncultivated areas. 

Cotyledons are bluish-green and ovate to spoon 

shaped; the cotyledon stalk can be long. 

Leaves are alternate; simple; toothed; may lack 

petioles. 

Flowers are small, white, with 4 petals forming at 

the ends of the branches in racemes which 

lengthen greatly at maturity; seed pod is flat, 

circular, deeply notched at the top; each pod 

contains several seeds. 

Stems are erect; 4 to 20 inches long; smooth; 

simple or branching above.

Flower-of-an-hour (Venice mallow) 

Hibiscus trionum 


found in gardens, cultivated fields, and waste 

places; also known as Venice mallow 

Cotyledons are kidney-shaped; yellowish 

green when they first emerge; covered with 

gland-tipped hairs 

Leaves are alternate; first two leaves toothed; 

subsequent leaves deeply lobed with few 

hairs on upper leaf surface and densely hairy 

on lower leaf surface 

Flowers are 1 to 2 inches across; with 5 

petals; pale yellow or whitish with purplishblack 

centers 

Stems are hairy; much branched

Foxtail barley 

Hordeum jubatum 

Life Cycle � perennial grass, reproducing by 

seed; found in pastures and noncultivated 

areas. 

Seedling leaves are bluish-green; covered 

with short white hairs. 

Leaves are alternate; smooth sheaths; blades 

1/8 to 1/4 inch wide; rough upper surface. 

Flowers are borne in a spike inflorescence 2 

to 5 inches long; nodding with soft yellowgreen 

or purplish bristles about 2 inches long. 

Stems are erect and 1 to 2 feet in height.

Giant foxtail 

Setaria faberi 


seed; found in cultivated crops. 

Ligule is a fringe of hairs. 

Sheaths are round to slightly flattened; 

sparsely hairy with hairy margins; no auricles. 

Blades are short and densely hairy above; 

sparsely hairy to smooth below. 

Stems are 3 to 7 feet tall; stems often fall over 

if not supported by other plants.

Giant ragweed 

Ambrosia trifida 


found on fertile, moist soils, especially 

bottomlands. 

Cotyledons are oval to spatula-shaped with 

grooved petioles; the stem below cotyledons is 

shiny green with purple blotches. 

Leaves are opposite; rough; hairy; deeply 

lobed with usually 3, sometimes 5 lobes; 

saw-toothed margins. 

Petioles are grooved; winged toward the 

stem; rough-hairy. 

Stems are coarse; rough; 4 to 12 feet in 

height.

Goosegrass 

Eleusine indica 


seed; found in cultivated fields and waste 

places. 

Leaves are smooth and 3 to 12 inches long. 

Stems are smooth; prostrate; sometimes 

upright; 6 inches to 2 feet long; grow in tufts. 

Flowers are small on 3- to 5-inch spikes 

spreading finger-like from the top of stem; 

3 to 6 spikes per stem.

Green foxtail 

Setaria viridis 


seed; very widespread distribution. 

Seedling leaves vary; first leaves are arched 

and hairless. 

Ligule is a fringe of hairs. 

Sheaths are round to slightly flattened; 

sparsely hairy to smooth with hairy margins; 

reddish base. 

Blades are mostly smooth above and below; 

rough margins; finely veined.

Hedge bindweed 

Calystegia sepium ssp. sepium 


creeping rootstocks; found in cultivated fields, 

fencerows, and waste areas, especially 

bottomlands. 

Cotyledons are rectangular and prominently veined 

on the underside; the stem below cotyledons is often 

dull red. 

Leaves are alternate; larger than field bindweed; 

arrowhead-shaped, usually with pointed tip and large 

basal lobes. 

Petioles are long; smooth; indented in leaf. 

Stems are smooth; twining or trailing. 

Root system is extensive but relatively shallow. 

Flowers are large; white (sometimes pink).

Hemp dogbane 

Apocynum cannabinum 


creeping rootstocks; found in wasteland and 

cultivated fields. 

Cotyledons are smooth and lanceolate; the stem 

below cotyledons is often reddish purple. 

Leaves are opposite; entire; elliptical with a 

rounded wedge at the base and narrowing 

to blunt point at the tip; smaller than common 

milkweed; petioles are short to nearly absent. 

Stems are smooth with reddish tinge; woody 

base; upper portion with ascending branches 

to give bushy appearance; exude milky juice 

when broken. 

Root system is extensive and deep, sending up 

new plants at intervals.

Hemp (Marijuana) 

Cannabis sativa 

Life Cycle � annual, reproducing by seed. 

Leaves are palmate with 5 to 9 leaflets deeply 

notched. 

Stems are 2 to 10 feet tall; coarse; somewhat 

grooved; rough and hairy; usually bushy 

unless crowded. 

Flowers are of two kinds—male and female, 

borne on separate plants, all flowers lack 

petals and are borne in clusters from the axils 

of the leaves; pollen-producing flowers are 

borne in the axils of the upper leaves; male 

plants decline after shedding pollen; female 

plants remain robust until frost.

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Barnyardgrass Echinochloa crus-galli - Seneca High School

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