Canada Thistle

 

• 1-4' tall

• Forms colonies and spreads vigorously via underground stems

• Deep-rooted

• Flowers are purple 1/2" - 1/3" wide – multiple flowers per plant

• Aggressive and difficult to control

• Tillage only increases numbers

 

Musk Thistle

 

• 2-6' tall

• Large deeply lobed spiny leaves

• Large 1 ½" - 2 1/2 " wide purple flower

• Invades pastures/rangeland forming dense stands

• Very competitive

 

Dalmation Toadflax
 

• 1-3' tall

• Perennial, reproduces from roots and seeds

• Leaves are waxy and wrap around stem, almost triangular or heart-shaped

• Yellow  “snapdragon”- like flowers with a long spur

• Aggressive weed with a deep root system

• Difficult to control

 

Yellow Toadflax
 

• 1-2' tall

• Perennial, reproduces from roots and seeds

• Leaves are numerous and narrow

• Flowers are yellow, 1" long, look like a “snapdragon”

• Aggressive invader with a deep root system

• Difficult to control

 

Diffuse Knapweed
 

• 1-2' tall

• Stems rough to touch

• Numerous narrow leaves

• Flowers are white to purplish

• Flowers July-September

• Reproduces by seed

• Highly competitive

 

Downy Brome aka Cheatgrass
 

• Winter annual

• Light green plant with soft hairs on the leaf

• Germinates in late summer to fall

• Mature plants dry out in summer months creating a fire hazzard

• Seeds can embed in clothes and animal fur

 

Leafy Spurge
 

• 1-3' tall

• Reproduces by roots and seeds

• Leaves are narrow, 1"-4" long

• Flowers are yellowish green with similar color bract beneath

• Very deep tap root system with large nutrient reserves

• Exudes a milky sap that can irritate skin, humans and livestock

• Seed capsules dry down and explode; can project seeds up to 15’

• Very difficult to control

 

Common Mullein
 

• 2-6' tall

• Large fuzzy leaves

• Rosette in the first year,  flowers in 2nd year

• Flowers are yellow on long stalks

• Stalks can produce thousands of seeds that persist in soil for years

• Flowers and seeds June-August

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