Weed Identification

Hairy bittercress weed (Cardamine hirsuta) is an annual spring or winter pest. The plant springs from a basal rosette and bears 3 to 9 inch long stems. The leaves are alternate and slightly scalloped with the largest at the base of the plant. Tiny white flowers develop at the ends of the stems and then turn into long seedpods. These pods split open explosively when ripe and fling seeds out into the environment.

Stellaria media, or Chickweed, is a cool-season annual plant that is sometimes considered a weed. This plant produces 1/2 inch to 1 inch stems that usually sprawl across the ground. The stems terminate in small white flowers during the spring for plants that are winter annuals, and during the summer or autumn for plants that are summer annuals.

Trifolium repens, or Clover, is a prostrate, mat-forming herbaceous perennial about four to six inches tall and spreading 12 inches or more by stems that root freely. Known for its 3-leaflet pattern and white flower heads, it is commonly considered a lawn weed. Easily grown from seed, Clover responds to mowing with aggressive growth and spreads aggressively by rooting at nodes forming mats up to 12 inches wide. It likes moist soil, sun to part shade. The white flowers protrude above the leaves and generally measure 4 to 6 inches tall.

Corn speedwell is a winter annual weed with tiny bright blue flowers. It prefers sunny locations in poor soils that are moist to dry in disturbed areas. It is low-branching and spreads by seeds, occasionally forming colonies.

Broadleaf perennial weed, fast-spreading, generally spread by seed, but once established are not affected by pre-emergent herbicides.  Not generally used in the home landscape.  They form deep taproots and the whole plant contains a milky latex sap.  The common name dandelion comes from the French 'dent de lion' which translates to "lion's tooth" referring to the deep green leaves that are toothed.

Henbit is a cool season annual weed in the mint family introduced from Europe.  The common name, Henbit, comes from the observation that chickens like it. Henbit is easily confused with Purple Deadnettle, which has petioled leaves all the way to the top leaves. The middle and upper leaves do not have petioles. Henbit leaves are also typically smaller than those of Purple Deadnettle.

Lespedeza is a summer annual weed in the bean family. It occurs in fields, open woods, roadsides and other disturbed sites. The preference is full sun, mesic conditions, and sandy soil, although other soil types are tolerated.

Yellow Nutsedge, is a perennial, glossy green, grass-like native weed or sedge that spreads predominantly by rhizomes and tubers, although viable seed can be produced. Plants die back to the ground in fall, with new shoots emerging in spring from underground tubers. This species, as well as other sedges, grows best in wet sites, prefers warm weather and full sun conditions, but will grow in a diversity of sites and environments.

Yellow woodsorrel is considered an aggressive weed in many turf and garden areas and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. It grows fastest in spring or fall and in warmer climates plants can be present year-round. These plants spread by rhizomes and stolons as well as by seeds which germinate quickly. Oxalis prefers dry to moist well-drained sandy-loam, alkaline soils. 

Annual bluegrass, in the family Poaceae, is a winter annual, clump-forming grass with a yellow-green color, prow-shaped leaf tips, and a distinctive whitish flower head. It is primarily a weed of lawns and turfgrass.  Preferring moist, shady areas, it emerges from fall through spring, flowers, and then dies with the onset of warm weather. Annual bluegrass is a prolific seed producer but is well managed by most preemergence herbicides labeled for use. It can be a difficult weed to control, as each plant produces several hundred seeds in a season that can lay dormant years before sprouting

Poa trivialis is a light green perennial grass that creates thick mats of stems, choking out areas of lawn. Because of the off color and rapid growth it is aesthetically unappealing, as are the large bare spots it can leave when it goes dormant in summer. The timing and appearance of the die-out can look like a fungal infection, and is often mistakenly treated as such.

Diodia virginiana, or Virginia Buttonweed, is a native branching, sprawling plant with small white star-shaped flowers in the leaf axis. It can be found in swamps, wet meadows, marshes, coastal prairies, and in the mud along streams and ponds. It is considered a perennial weed by many and can show up as a weed in lawns and other disturbed areas of the south.

In general, violets are an herbaceous, perennial flowering plant with leaves and flowers emerging on separate stems from rhizomes from March to June. it is a low growing (5 to 7 inches high), mounding, vigorously spreading plant that can make life difficult for lawn enthusiasts. The plant reproduces by seed in late summer and early fall when flowers without petals produce seeds which are thrown by mechanical ejection from three-parted seed capsules.