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Weeds
Latin Name: Matricaria Matricarioides
Common Name: Pineapple Weed
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to the western United States, but now found across the continent to the east coast and as far north as Alaska.
Biology:
A very low-growing annual weed whose seeds may germinate in either summer or winter. If germination occurs in late summer the rosettes of leaves persist through the winter. Reproduction is by seeds.
Identification:
Mature plants are capable of growing up to 12 inches tall, as a bushy, well-branched plant. The stems are smooth and hairless and all foliage has a sweet odor when crushed, similar to the odor of pineapple. Leaves are pinnately divided one to three times, resulting in lobes that are very fine and thin and giving the plant a soft look and feel. The flower heads are very distinctive, as from one to several heads on short stalks arising from the ends of the stems. The flower
Latin Name: Sida Spinosa
Common Name: Prickly Sida
Other Names: Prickly fanpetals
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to tropical Latin America and southern United States, and found throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and west into Arizona. It also has been introduced to Hawaii as a common roadside weed.
Biology:
An annual weed in cool climates, but a perennial in warm and tropical climates, where plants can grow up to 2 feet tall with tough, fibrous stems. Plants will grow in dense stands that crowd out other vegetation. Reproduction is from seeds, and this plant can be found along roadsides, in fields and pastures, and in any disturbed ground habitats.
Identification:
Plants may be unbranched or may have numerous stems arising from the base, often with short branches off of them. The younger stems are covered with short, soft hairs. The leaves are alternate, ovate to elongated, and up to 2 inches long.
Latin Name: Polygonum Arenastrum
Common Name: Prostrate Knotweed
Other Names: Common knotweed, doorweed, knotgrass, nutgrass, stonegrass, wiregrass, wireweed, knotweed, pinkweed, bird grass, goose grass, waygrass, matgrass
Pest Details
Origin:
Introduced from Europe. Now found throughout the United States and southern Canada.
Biology:
Annual, or weak perennial that may survive winters in moderate climates. Seeds germinate from November into spring, and plants become mature from late spring into the early fall. Prostrate knotweed differs from other knotweeds by its very low-growing habit, forming a dense mat on the surface of the soil. In cultivated fields the stems may begin to grow upright, standing even as high as 12 inches.
Identification:
Stems are tough, slender, and with a zigzag appearance, swollen at the joints and extensively branched. Where stems touch the ground they may form roots at the
Latin Name: Chamaesyce Humistrata
Common Name: Prostrate Spurge
Other Names: Milk purslane, spurge, milky spurge, spotted pursley.
Pest Details
Origin:
Native of the United States, and widely spread across the continent and south into South America
Biology:
Annual weeds with a prostrate, creeping growth, or an ascending growth when among other plants. When growing on open ground it is multiple branched and forms thick mats of foliage. Stems and leaves exude milky sap when broken. This is an extremely common weed in landscape and turf, as well as in roadside areas, ditch banks, and cultivated crops.
Identification:
Both prostrate and spotted spurge have growth habits and foliage nearly identical. Differences may be: (a.) Spotted spurge – does not root at the nodes, leaves are dark green with purple blotch in the middle, (b.) Prostrate spurge – roots at the nodes of the stems, leaves are pale green to gray-green
Latin Name: Tribulus Terrestris
Common Name: Puncture Vine
Other Names: Puncture weed, bullhead, goathead, Mexican sandbur, Texas sandbur, burnut, caltrop, ground burnut, land caltrop
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to the Mediterranean area and southern Europe. Now scattered over much of the U.S.
Biology:
An annual weed, extremely prostrate and mat-forming, spreading out in a circle to 10 feet in diameter. Very shallow but tough taproot. Seeds germinate in early spring, but can remain viable in the soil for 5 years. Plants mature throughout the summer, and may produce copious amounts of seeds. Seeds are spiked and very hard, creating havoc with bicycle tires that easily are punctured.
Identification:
Stems are long, thin, and trailing along the soil, up to 5 feet long. Leaves form on opposite sides of the main stem, are hairy, and are divided into 4 to 8 pairs of leaflets. Flowers are yellow, less than ½ inch wide,
Latin Name: Lythrum Salicaria
Common Name: Purple Loosestrife
Other Names: Purple lythrum, bouquet-violet, European loosestrife, spiked loosestrife
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to Europe, but introduced as an ornamental plant to North America, where it now occurs in nearly every state in the U.S. with the exception of the arid Southwest and the extreme Southeast. It also occurs throughout most of Canada.
Biology:
This is one of North America’s most invasive and noxious weed problems, and is listed as illegal to sell in many states. It is a perennial with a large, tough root system, and plants spread by underground shoots, forming extensive and dense colonies. Reproduction also is by seed, and if plants are fragmented by mowing the stem pieces also can begin new growth. Plants typically grow in moist to marshy habitats along roadsides, banks of waterways and ponds or lakes, pastures or wet disturbed sites, and in
Latin Name: Agropyron Repens
Common Name: Quackgrass
Other Names: Couch grass, devil’s grass, dog grass, quick grass, quitchgrass, shelly grass, twitch grass, wheat grass, whickens, wire grass, witch grass, scutch grass, knot grass
Pest Details
Origin:
Introduced from Europe and now found throughout most of the United States, with the exceptions of the warm southern areas from South Carolina to Arizona.
Biology:
A perennial grass that is a problem in cultivated crops, landscape, and turf, but is a useful forage grass where it grows in non-cultivated pastures. Spreads and reproduces by underground rhizomes, as well as by seeds. Underground rhizomes are damaging to root crops such as potatoes, which they may penetrate as they grow.
Identification:
Very similar to the ryegrasses, but quackgrass has the distinct rhizomes that may extend laterally out to 5 feet, and form a tangled mass. Rhizomes are capable
Latin Name: Trifolium Arvense
Common Name: Rabbitfoot Clover
Other Names: Stone clover, old-field clover, hare’s-foot clover
Pest Details
Origin:
A native of Europe, but introduced to North America where it now occurs throughout the eastern half of the United States, all of southern Canada, and in the western U.S. along the Pacific Coast and in the states bordering Canada. It also occurs in Hawaii.
Biology:
An annual that reproduces from seeds, this weed is a common and invasive plant in disturbed habitats such as roadsides or waste lots, growing well in dry, sandy soils with low nutrient value. It also is a weed in poorly maintained turf.
Identification:
Mature plants form dense colonies that crowd out other low annual plants, growing to as tall as 16 inches in height. Each plant has numerous erect stems arising from the base with frequent branching, and stems and leaves are covered with hairs. Leaves are alternate
Latin Name: Vulpia Myuros
Common Name: Rat-tail Fescue
Other Names: Rat-tail fescue
Pest Details
Origin:
Introduced from Europe, and now found throughout the United States, in southern Canada and Latin America, as well as in Alaska and Hawaii. V. myuros and F. megalura are sometimes separated as two species, but currently combined as only one.
Biology:
An annual grass reproducing from seeds, this troublesome weed is found in many habitats, such as roadsides, ditches, cultivated crops and orchards. It is not a good forage crop for livestock.
Identification:
Mature plants grow to 2 feet tall with narrow, upright stems and very narrow leaves that may tend to droop. The flowering head is a panicle up to 8 inches long, with a flattened, almost fan-like appearance. The spikelets are alternate and are also flattened, each with 4 or 5 flowers on it and with very long awns.
Characteristicts Important
Latin Name: Trifolium Pratense
Common Name: Red Clover
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to Eurasia, but introduced as a pasture plant which has escaped cultivation and is now widespread in the United States.
Biology:
A perennial that reproduces by seed. Favors areas that are cool and moist, and commonly grows as a weed in turf.
Identification:
Mature plants can grow up to almost 2 feet in height, as one of the largest common clovers. Stems are erect but fairly weak, and tend to bend as the flower heads grow and add weight. Leaves are divided into 3 elongate-oval leaflets that have the central area lighter than the dark green of the margins. The central leaflet is not on a stalk, and the petiole is fairly short. Flowers are arranged as dark pink to violet flower heads at the end of a long stalk, usually with several leaves around the base of the flowers. The seed pod contains 2