BIENNIAL BROADLEAF
Wild carrot, Daucus carota
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf such as golf course roughs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The leaves are alternate and finely divided, hairy, with a distinctive carrotlike odor.
In the second year, the floral stalks appear with small five-petal flowers, borne in groups at the ends of branches.
Wild carrot can survive close mowing and produces clusters of flowers which are flat and near the ground.
It is often confused with yarrow, a similar fine-leafed perennial.
Wild carrot is widely distributed throughout the eastern United States.
PERENNIAL BROADLEAF
Curly dock, Rumex crispus
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf such as golf course roughs; indicator of low fertility.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
A branched taproot forms a rosette of long leaves with wrinkled margins.
The flowers form in dense clusters on erect branches that develop in unmowed situations.
Curly dock is competitive during summer stress, due to food reserves in the taproot.
Bull thistle, Cirsium vulgare
Turf niche: found in clusters and occasionally mowed turf.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The spines are hard and can puncture the skin.
In the second year, flowering stems bear reddish-purple spiny flowers.
Bull thistle does not tolerate mowing and is generally a problem only in newly established turf.
It has wide distribution throughout the cool, humid region
Creeping bellflower, Campanula rapunculoides
Turf niche: generally innovator from ornamental plantings; can persist in medium cut turfs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence; resistant to 2,4-D.
It spreads throughout the turf by short stolons.
The stems are generally erect, reaching heights of 3 ft.
and contain a milky juice.
The basal leaves have a long petiole and are heart-shaped with minimal serrate margin, while the upper leaves are smaller and directly attached to the stem.
The flowers are numerous and bell-shaped, approximately 3/4 in.
long with five purple teeth scattered along the upper portion of the stem.
Creeping bellflower, sometimes used as an ornamental, can become a troublesome weed in turf
Field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis
Turf niche: spreads in clusters; withstands some mowing.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence; nonselective postemergence.
It has a very extensive, deep, multibranched root system which ensures its survival through periods of stress.
The stems are smooth and slender, 2 to 7 ft long, with a vinelike growth habit that twists and covers plant material in its path.
The leaves are arrow-shaped but variable in shape and size.
The white and pink flowers are funnel-shaped, approximately 1 in. across, and formed singly in the leaf axils.
Field bindweed is a serious weed in agriculture and is considered a noxious weed in many states.
Creeping buttercup, Ranunculus repens
Turf niche: occasional invader of medium maintained turfs
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
It thrives in moist, rich soils and occurs in lawns and along ditches.
The stems are low, hairy, and creep, rooting at the nodes.
This growth habit quickly covers the ground with a network of plants.
The leaves are long petioled and alternate, three-divided, and three-lobed.
They are hairy, dark green, and sometimes have lighter spots.
Yellow, five-petaled flowers appear between May and August, producing numerous seeds.
The perfect flowers are approximately 1/2 in. long and borne at the end of long, terminal stalks.
Improving soil drainage and lowering the mowing height aids in the control of creeping buttercup.
Catnip, Nepeta cataria
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf such as golf course roughs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The stems, which are covered with fine, short hairs, are 2 to 3 ft tail, square, and light green.
The heart-shaped leaves are opposite and pointed with soft-toothed margins.
The leaves are darker green on the upper surface and light green or whitish underneath.
The flowers, with the petals formed into a two-lipped tube, form in dense clusters at the ends of the stems and branches.
Catnip is a serious pest only in newly established turfs.
Mouseear chickweed, Cerastium vulgatum
Turf niche: commonly found in clumps in most turfs; withstands some mowing.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The roots of this species are shallow, branched, and fibrous.
The stems are generally hairy, slender, and spread closely over the ground.
The leaves are small, very hairy, opposite, and somewhat thickened or fleshy.
The flowers are small, white, five-petaled, and notched at the tip.
The bracts surrounding the flower are also hairy.
Growth of mouseear chickweed is stimulated by close, continuous mowing.
The stems of this species can root from nodes that come into contact with the soil.
Chicory, Cichorium intybus
Turf niche: disbursed populations in newly established or low maintenance turf.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
It has a large, deep, fleshy taproot and stems that are erect, branched, and smooth with a milky sap.
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The basal leaves are long and deeply lobed, forming a basal rosette; leaves growing on the stems are smaller and much less lobed.
Small, blue, daisylike flowers are borne on long petioles.
Chicory is quite resistant to mowing and is more prevalent in low-maintenance or newly established turf.
Silvery cinquefoil, Potentilla argentea
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf such as golf course roughs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The stems are long and prostrate, with leaves having five to seven sharply toothed leaflets.
The lower leaf surface is densely covered with short hairs and silvery in color.
The yellow-petaled flowers are about 1/2 in. across and borne on short stalks in the leaf axils.
Silvery cinquefoil is an indicator of poor soil fertility.
It is a tough wiry plant, and is often confused with wild strawberry.
Unlike the three-lobed strawberry leaf, silvery cinquefoil leaves are divided into five leaflets.
Clovers, Trifolium spp.
Turf niche: Common pest in all turfs; persists under low mowing.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
Each species has flowers of a unique color and size.
They are generally borne on separate stems in a single, tightly bunched cluster.
Clover stems are prostrate and root from nodes that touch the soil.
The leaves are compound with three short, soft leaflets.
The leaves of white clover, the most common turf pest, have white markings across each leaflet.
Clovers are often used in low-maintenance seed mixtures but can become dominant in a turf.
They are widely distributed and common throughout the United States.
Oxeye daisy, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum.
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The stems are smooth, seldom branched, and 1 to 3 ft high, bearing simple, alternate leaves which are usually conspicuously low.
The flowers are daisylike in appearance.
Oxeye daisy is an indicator of low fertility but is seldom a problem in mowed turf.
It is widely distributed throughout the cool, humid region.
Dandelion, Taraxacum officinales
Turf niche: commonly found in all turfs; persists under low mowing.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
Its roots are thick, fleshy, and often branched.
Dandelion stems never elongate and produce a basal rosette of leaves.
The leaves are simple but are deeply lobed, with the lobes pointing back toward the stem.
The flowers are borne on single stalks with bright yellow flowers.
Dandelions often regenerate from pieces of root or stem.
When mature, dandelion seed develops a pappus and are transmitted through the air over large distances.
Mouseear hawkweed, Hieracium pilosella
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf; mostly found in Pacific Northwest and Northeast.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The stems are covered with bristlelike hairs and spread by slender rhizomes and stolons.
The spatula-shaped leaves may reach 10 in. in length and are most often found in basal rosettes.
The flowers are yellow and daisylike.
Healall, Prunella vulgaris
Turf niche: occasional pest in medium cut turfs; grows in dense patches.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
Healall stems are long, branched, square, hairy when young, but smooth when mature.
The leaves are oval, opposite, with smooth margins or very slightly notched, and 1 to 4 in.
Iong with long petioles.
The flowers are violet or purple with two-lipped tubes and form in groups at the ends of branches.
Due to healall's creeping growth habit, it can form dense patches that escape close, continuous mowing.
Despite its name, healall has no known medicinal value.
Common lespedeza, Lespedeza striata
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf such as golf course roughs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
It is well adapted to acidic soils of low fertility.
Lespedeza is commonly grown for erosion control, soil improvement, and as a forage, but can escape and become a troublesome weed in turf.
Lespedeza has small purple flowers and compound leaves with three leaflets.
It is widely distributed through the southern United States and is particularly well adapted to the transition zone.
Moneywort, Lysimachia nummularia
Turf niche: pest of eastern U.S.; found mostly in shaded areas
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
It is most abundant in moist, rich, shaded soils and reproduces by seed but more often through a creeping growth habit.
The leaves are simple, short-petioled, nearly round, opposite, with a smooth margin, and l/2 to 1 in. in diameter.
Solitary, five-petaled, yellow flowers arise from leaf axils and are borne on slender pedicels.
Moneywort was introduced as an ornamental from Europe and is still used as a ground cover.
Moneywort blooms occur throughout summer from June to August.
It is sometimes confused with ground ivy and is also called creeping jenny and creeping charlie.
Its adaptation to moist, shady sites makes it more difficult to control.
Yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus, and purple nutsedge, Cyperus rotundus
Turf niche: found in all turfs under saturated soil conditions; can also persist in field capacity soil
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
They occur throughout the United States, particularly in turf under a medium to high level of irrigation.
Nutsedges are light yellow-green, with triangular stems bearing three-ranked leaves, unlike the two-ranked leaves of the grass family.
Yellow nutsedge has yellowish scales at the base of the stem and rhizomes with a single terminal nutlet.
Purple nutsedge has reddish to purple scales, produces rhizomes, and chains of nutlets.
Yellow nutsedge nutlets are "sweet" tasting, while Purple nutsedge nutlets are "bitter".
The root systems are fibrous.
Deep-rooted tubers or nutlets have the potential for reproducing new plants.
The flowers are yellow to yellowish brown and three-ranked in a paniclelike arrangement.
Sedges are often grouped with broadleaf plants because they can be selectively controlled in turf with herbicides.
Poison-ivy, Rhus radicans, and poison-oak, R. toxicodendron
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf; does not persist under mowing.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence; resistant to 2,4-D.
Poison-ivy is dominant in the eastern half of the United States, while poison-oak is generally found in the West.
The plants may be a low-growing shrub or a vine climbing up in trees or fence rows.
The leaves have three shiny leaflets, 2 to 4 in. long, with pointed tips.
The edges of leaflets may be smooth or irregularly toothed.
The flowers are small, green, five-petaled, and borne in a head of 1 to 3 in.
Each flower produces a berry which is small, white, round, and hard.
All parts of poison-oak and poison-ivy contain a material that can cause blistering of the skin.
Poison-ivy leaves often turn bright red in the fall.
Both species vary in leaf shape, rooting habit, and the amount of hair on the leaves
Red sorrel, Rumex acetosella
Turf niche: occasionalpest of medium cut, low fertility turfs; persists in acidic soils.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
It has an extensive, shallow branching root system.
New plants are generated along the branches.
The stems are generally short but can range up to 16 in. high if unmowed.
Several stems may arise from a single crown.
The leaves are arrow-shaped, somewhat thick and fleshy, and 1 to 3 in. long.
Early growth consists of a rosette of basal leaves.
The flowers are yellow to red and borne on branching seed stalks at the ends of stems.
Male and female flowers are borne on different plants.
The male flowers are yellow to yellow-green and female flowers are red to reddish brown.
Red sorrel persists well in acidic, low-fertility soils and can be an indicator of a low pH.
It can be difficult to control due to its thick, fleshy leaves and extensive root system
Speedwells, Veronica spp.
Turf niche: found in all turfs in distributed populations.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
They are distributed throughout the cool-humid region.
Speedwells have a fibrous root system with smooth branch ing stems that are seldom over 8 in. tall.
The leaves are simple and narrow, with opposite leaves at the base and slightly toothed, alternate, and smooth-margined leaves on the stems.
The axillary flowers are small and white to blue, giving rise to characteristic heart-shaped seed capsules.
Speedwells are one of the most difficult turfgrass weeds to control.
Little starwort, Stellaria graminea.
Turf niche: occasional pest in coarse, damp, low fertility soils.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
Its leaves are simple, opposite, narrow, and broader near the base.
From May through July, white, perfect flowers appear on long-stalked, terminal, spreading cymes.
The stems of little starwort are nearly prostrate, slender, and without hair.
This weed is more abundant in damp, poorly drained soils.
Wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca
Turf niche: found in clumps in medium cut turfs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
It generally resumes growth early in spring and blooms from May to July.
The regular, small flowers have five rounded white petals.
The compound leaves are in groups of three leaflets with sharply toothed margins.
Both the stems and leaves are densely hairy.
Wild strawberries have short, upright stems that produce numerous lateral stolons.
The American Indian used strawberry juice and water to treat inflamed eyes.
Root infusions were used to treat gonorrhea and mouth sores.
Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf such as golf course roughs; does not persist under frequent mowing..
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The multibranched roots can extend several feet deep into the soil.
The stems can reach 2 to 5 ft tall, branch at the top, and are slightly hairy when young.
The leaves have spiny margins and are somewhat lobed and smooth.
Both the stems and leaf margins have hard, pointed spines which can easily penetrate the skin.
The bright lavender flowers generally do not exist in mowed turf but are borne in apical bunches.
Male and female flowers are in separate blooms and generally on separate plants.
New plants can arise from broken root pieces, nullifying any potential physical control of this plant.
Hairy vetch, Vicia villosa
Turf niche: occasionally found in high cut turf; usually in patches in low fertility turfs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
Hairy vetch is used as a cover crop or a green manure crop, sometimes escaping cultivation.
It is often a component in seed mixtures.
Hairy vetch occurs throughout the United States and can persist under normal mowing heights.
The leaves are generally compound, alternate, narrow, and oblong with terminal climbing tendrils on the stem.
Blue-and-white bicolored, 1/2-inch flowers form on a one-sided raceme, growing downward.
They are irregular and pealike.
Vetches are used extensively as a forage crop and are generally high in nitrogen due to their association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Violets, Viola spp.
Turf niche: found in shaded areas in most turfs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
They are generally introduced from cultivated plantings.
Their leaves are small, round, and borne on a long petiole.
The flowers are generally white to lavender or purple.
Violets are extremely difficult to control in shaded turf and are often resistant to selective herbicides.
Common yarrow, Achillea millefolium
Turf niche: generally found only in low fertility turfs.
Herbicide management: selective postemergence.
The stems can be 1 to 2 ft tall and branch at the top.
The leaves are soft, covered with hair, finely divided, and appear fernlike.
The basal leaves are longer than the leaves arising from the stemless branches.
The flowers are small, white, and in groups of 5 to 10.
Marrow can persist well under close mowing on poor soils but does not compete well in rich soils.