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The Virtual WeedPatch
id.html
familyID.html
Weed Identification: Plant Family
Learning weeds by plant families is one of the best ways to learn identification.
Families often have common traits among different species that allow you
to group weeds in your mind for easier ID. These family characteristics
are also very helpful to begin ID of a new weed species.
Closely related to the plant family way of learning weed ID is the "species-group"
concept discussed previously. Many of our most successful weed "species"
are in fact a group of closely related, often inter-fertile, species. Learning
these weed species-groups will aid you in learning weed ID.
Plant Family ----> Species-Group ----> Species ---->
Variants
Composite (Compositae) Family
common cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium)
summer annual
dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) perennial
The Thistle Species-Group:
-Canada thistle (Circium arvense) perennial
-Biennial Thistles:
bull thistle (Circium vulgare) biennial
musk thistle (Carduus nutans) biennial
The Ragweed Species-Group:
common ragweed (Ambrosia artimeisiifolia) summer annual
giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) annual
Dogbane (Apocynaceae) Family
hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) perennial
Grass (Graminaceae; Poaceae) Family
quackgrass (Elytrigia repens ) perennial
woolly cupgrass (Eriochloa villosa) summer
annual
barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) summer annual
The Panicum Species-Group:
wild proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) summer annual
fall panicum (Panicum dichotomiflorum) summer annual
witchgrass (Panicum capillare) summer annual
The Foxtail Species-Group:
green foxtail (Setaria viridis) summer annual
bristly foxtail (Setaria verticillata) summer annual
giant foxtail (Setaria faberi) summer annual
yellow foxtail (Setaria glauca) summer annual
knotroot foxtail (Setaria geniculata) summer annual
The Crabgrass Species-Group:
large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis) summer annual
smooth crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum) summer annual
The Sorghum Species-Group:
shattercane (Sorghum bicolor) summer annual
johnsongrass (Sorghum halpense) perennial
sorghum-almum (Sorghum almum) summer annual
Lambsquarters (Chenopodiaceae) Family
common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) summer annual
Mallow (Malvaceae) Family
velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) summer annual
Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae) Family
Mustard (Cruciferae) Family
field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense)
winter annual
shepard's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
annual/winter annual
wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis) winter/summer
annual
Nightshade (Solanaceae) Family
jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) summer annual
Pigweed (Amaranthaceae) Family
The Pigweed Species-Group
redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) summer annual
smooth pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus) summer annual
Powell pigweed (Amaranthus powellii) summer annual
spiny pigweed (Amaranthus spinosus) summer annual
tumble pigweed (Amaranthus albus) summer annual
prostrate pigweed (Amaranthus blitoides) summer annual
common waterhemp (Amaranthus rudis) summer annual
tall waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) summer annual
Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) summer annual
Smartweed (Polygoneaceae) Family
The Polygonum Species-Group
-Knotweed Species-Group
prostrate knotweed (Polygonum aviculare) summer annual
erect knotweed (Polygonum erectum) summer annual
-Smartweed Species-Group
Pennsylvania smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum) summer annual
ladysthumb (Polygonum persicaria) summer annual
