Carpetweed: Mollugo verticillata
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Weed Description: A
late-germinating, much-branched summer annual forming circular patches several feet in
diameter. Seedling: Hypocotyl is short, green early turning brown with time. Cotyledons are oblong, thickened, smooth and 1.5 to 3.0 mm long. |
| Leaves: Smooth, in
whorls of 3-8 at each node. Leaves are sessile, 1 to 3 cm long, widest above the
middle and tapering to the base (oblanceolate). Roots: Small, branched taproot. |
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Stems: Smooth
and much-branched, lying on the ground with tips ascending (decumbent). Stems are
green and 5 to 30 cm long. Flowers: In clusters of 2 to 5 with slender 5-15 mm long stalks. Each flower is small (4-5 mm wide), and white in color. |
| Fruit: A small
(1.5-4 mm long) three-parted, egg-shaped capsule containing small orange to red seeds. Identifying Characteristics: Whorls of leaves at each stem node in addition to the circular, light green, mat-like growth. |
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