HOARY CRESS
Lepidium draba L.

DESCRIPTION

Hoary cress is a perennial forb introduced from Eurasia. It reproduces by extensive root systems, rhizomes, and seeds.  Stems are 0.5-3 feet tall and nearly hairless to moderately hairy.  Leaves are alternate, oblong, 1-3 inches long, and grayish-green with toothed margins. The upper leaves are attached directly to the stem with a broad, forked base that appears to clasp the stem. The flowers are white, 4-petaled, 1/8 inch across, and borne in showy, compact racemes. The fruits are flattened, heart-shaped pods about 1/8-inch long. One granular, reddish brown seed is produced in each half of the pods.

Flowering May-July

Fruiting June-August.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate hoary cress on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

LEAFY SPURGE
Euphorbia virgate Waldst. & Kit.

DESCRIPTION

Leafy spurge is a perennial forb introduced from Europe and Asia. It reproduces by seed and creeping roots that give rise to new roots and shoots every few inches. Stems are bright green, 2/3-2 feet tall branched above the middle, stiff and woody when mature, and usually grow in bunches. Stems are branched at top, very stiff and woody when mature. The stems and leaves emit a milky sap when broken. Leaves are alternate, oblong 1½-3½ inches long, and entire. Male and female flowers are tiny and borne together in small cup-like structures surrounded by broad greenish-yellow bracts.  Groups of flower-bearing cups and their bracts are produced in umbel-like clusters at the ends of the stems. Seeds are borne in three-lobed capsules with 3 seeds per capsule and are ejected explosively from the capsule to distances up to 20 feet.

Flowering May-September

Fruiting June-October.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate leafy spurge on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

QUACKGRASS
Elymus repens (L.) Gould

DESCRIPTION

Quackgrass is a cool-season perennial grass introduced from Eurasia. It reproduces by seed and rhizomes. Rhizomes are pale yellow or straw colored, cord-like about 1/8 inch in diameter and vary from 2-18 inches in depth,  with new roots and plants emerging from nodes. Stems grow up to 3 feet tall with 3-6 joints. Leaves are 3-12 inches long, shiny, dark green, and bear two conspicuous, tooth-like projections where the blade joins the stem. The dry, lower sheaths, leaves, and stems are distinctly hairy; upper sheaths are hairless or nearly so. Tiny wind-pollinated flowers are borne in groups of 4-7 subtended by 2 unawned or short-awned glumes (each group is called a spikelet).  Spikelets are flattened and mostly solitary at each node along a 2-4-inch long terminal spike. The grains are slender and about ¼ inch long. 

Flowering June-August;

Fruiting July-October.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate quackgrass on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

RUSSIAN KNAPWEED
Rhaponticum repens (L.) Hidalgo

DESCRIPTION

Russian knapweed is a perennial forb that was introduced from Asia. It reproduces by roots, rhizomes and seeds. Stems are up to 3 feet tall, often branched near the base, ridged, covered with soft white or gray hairs, and develop, from a particularly well-developed branching root system. Leaves are alternate and nearly hairless to moderately hairy: rosette and lower stem leaves are oblanceolate to broadly lanceolate or oblong, up to 4 inches long, and deeply lobed to nearly entire; upper stem leaves are progressively smaller, oblong, and toothed or entire. Flowers are all tubular, rose to purple or blue, and borne in flask-shaped heads, about 0.5-0.75 inch long.  The heads are solitary on the ends of leafy branches. The seed-like fruits are an ivory to light brown, about 1/8-inch-long, flattened, ovate, longitudinally-ridged, and topped with numerous capillary bristles ¼–½ inch long.

Flowering June-August

Fruiting August-September.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate Russian knapweed on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

KUDZU
Pueraria montana var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen & S.M. Almeida ex Sanjapp & Predeep

DESCRIPTION

Kudzu is a long-lived, semi-woody, vine with long runners that can cover the ground and climbing stems that can grow to 100 feet long and envelop nearby shrubs and trees. The long runners root at the nodes to form new plants.  Older stems have a rough, bark-like covering and young stems bear abundant, spreading brown hairs.  The leaves are alternate and compound with three leaflets; lower leaf surfaces are sparsely hairy while upper leaf surfaces are mostly hairless.  Each leaflet is broadly ovate to triangular, 2-10 inches long and up to 6 inches wide, entire or 2-3 lobed and abruptly taper to a pointed tip. Showy, fragrant lavender to purple or reddish flowers up to ½ inch long are borne in short, dense racemes. Seed production is infrequent because of sparse blooming. The seed pods are 1½-3 inches long, papery and densely covered with fine brown hairs.   Seeds are reddish-brown and hairy. 

Flowering August-October

Fruiting August-October.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate kudzu on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

PIGNUT
Hoffmannseggia glauca (Ortega) Eifert

DESCRIPTION

Pignut, also known as hogpotato and Indian rushpea, is a native, perennial legume. The stems, petioles, flowers, and fruits are covered with tiny, distinctive, tack-shaped glands. Pignut has deep roots on which develop nut-like tubers 10-15 inches below the surface that are difficult to remove from the soil. The stems are 8-12 inches tall.  The leaves are mostly at the base of the stem, are 3-5 inches long, and twice compound with 3-15 pairs of primary leaflets and 12-22 pairs of secondary leaflets on each primary leaflet.   The secondary leaflets are oblong and 1/12-1/4 inch long.  The flowers are of the pea-type, yellow or orange-red, and about one half inch long.  The seed pods are flat, 1-1 ½ inches long, and typically contain 1-6 seeds. 

Flowering May-September;

Fruiting June-October.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A.  2-1313a et. seq.) requires all people to control the spread of and to eradicate pignut on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  With the exception of herbicide applications, two or more of the following methods must be used together to control pignut. 

CANADA THISTLE
Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.

DESCRIPTION

Canada thistle is a perennial forb native to Europe.  It reproduces by seeds and whitish, creeping roots that send up new shoots every 8-12 inches. Stems are 2-4 feet tall, and usually branched above the middle, Leaves are alternate, oblong or lanceolate, irregularly lobed or toothed, spiny-margined, and hairless or white-haired. Flowers are pink to purple (rarely white) and borne in 0.5-1-inch-diameter heads clustered near the  ends of branches. Male and female flowers are on different plants and can be difficult to tell apart without careful examination.  For viable seed to be produced, plants bearing male flowers and plants bearing female flowers need to be in close proximity. The seed-like fruits are about 1/8-inch-long, smooth, light to dark brown, oblong, slightly flattened and slightly curved, and bear a terminal cluster of numerous white, 0.5-1-inch capillary bristles that aid in wind dispersal. 

Flowering June-August

Fruiting July-frost.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate Canada thistle on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

FIELD BINDWEED
Convolvulus arvensis L.

DESCRIPTION
Field bindweed is a twining perennial forb native to Europe and Asia.  It reproduces by seeds and rootstocks. The root system is extensive, extending to a depth of 20-30 feet. The smooth, slender stems twine or spread over the soil and vegetation. Leaves up to 2 inches long are alternate, simple, petioled, and highly variable in shape and size. The leaf blade may be oblong to elliptical or may be rounded to pointed with spreading basal lobes. Flowers are white, pink, or white with pink, funnel-shaped, about 1 inch across, and usually borne singly in the axils of leaves. Each flower stalk has two tiny, scale-like bracts ½-2 inches below the flower; the bracts, along with leaf shape and small flower size, distinguish field bindweed from hedge bindweed. Seeds are dark, brownish-gray, about 1/8-inch-long, and have one rounded and two flattened sides.

Flowering June-August;

Fruiting August-October.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all people to control the spread of and to eradicate field bindweed on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Because field bindweed is a perennial, with the exception of herbicide applications, two or more of the following methods must be used together to control field bindweed.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

MUSK THISTLE
Carduus nutans L.

DESCRIPTION

Musk thistle is primarily a biennial, winter annual or short-lived perennial forb that was introduced from Eurasia. The leaves are deeply lobed, hairless, and dark green with a light green mid-rib. A silver-gray leaf margin is characteristic of each spine tipped lobe, giving the leaf a frosted appearance.  The stems grow from a rosette of leaves that grow flat to the ground and are present year-round.  The leaf base extends down the stem as wing-like flaps. Musk thistle is the first of the thistles to bloom in the spring. Each head is 2 to 3 inches in diameter, terminal, solitary, usually nodding or bent over slightly at the ends of branches, and consisting of many, tiny, purple (rarely white) flowers. The seed-like fruits are straw-colored, oblong, and 1/8-inch-long topped by numerous ½-1-inch, white, capillary bristles that aid in dispersal of the seeds and detach as a unit.

Flowering May-September (occasionally until frost).

Fruiting May-frost, Fruit dispersal begins 7-10 days after blooming.  

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all people to control the spread of and to eradicate musk thistle on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

SERICEA LESPEDEZA
Lespedeza cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don

DESCRIPTION

Sericea lespedeza is a shrubby-looking perennial forb, 2-5 feet tall with many branching stems from a stout, woody, branched taproot.  It is native to Asia.  The leaves, each with three ¼-1-inch long leaflets, are crowded along the stems.  The leaflets are wedge- or club-shaped.  Two types of flowers are produced individually or in small clusters along the stems: showy, mostly cross-pollinated flowers are ¼ inch long and cream-colored with purple markings; Self-pollinated flowers are smaller and less showy.  Fruits from both types of flowers are tan to brown, one-seeded pods 1/8 - ¼ inches long. 

Flowering August-frost;

Fruiting September-frost.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate sericea lespedeza on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

JOHNSONGRASS
Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.

DESCRIPTION

Johnsongrass is a warm-season, perennial grass native to Asia and northern Africa. It reproduces by long rhizomes and seeds. It is well adapted to hold its own in competition with crop plants. Stems grow up to 6-12 feet tall, from freely branching, stout, fleshy rhizomes bearing, fibrous roots. Leaves are alternate, simple, and relatively wide and long with a prominent white midvein. Spikelets are paired (1 sessile and perfect, 1 stalked and anther-bearing) and borne in  large open panicles. The fruits are  reddish-brown grains about 2 mm long.

Flowering May – frost.

Fruiting June – frost.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate Johnsongrass on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.

BUR RAGWEED
Ambrosia grayii (A. Nelson) Shinners

DESCRIPTION

Bur ragweed, also known as wooly leaf bursage, is a native, erect, perennial forb, 1-2 feet tall, that reproduces by underground root-stocks and seeds. Stems are usually branching from the base and covered with fine, woolly hairs that give the plant a silvery-gray to purplish-white appearance. The leaves are usually alternate rarely opposite toward the base of the stem), broadly ovate, pinnately 3-5-parted or entire, long-petioled, and dusty greenish-gray. The central lobe of the leaves is usually much larger than the lateral lobes.  Male and female flowers are borne in separate heads, with male heads, drooping, about ¼ inch in diameter, and produced in terminal racemes, and female heads, mostly solitary in the leaf axils, 2-flowered, and less than ¼ inch in diameter.  The 1-seeded fruits are bur-like, 1/8-1/4-inch-long, and bear stout, straight or hooked spines that are 1/16-1/8 inch long. 

Flowering September-frost.

Fruiting September-frost.

PREVENTION OF SPREAD

The Noxious Weed Law (K.S.A. 2-1313a et. seq.) requires all landowners to control the spread of and to eradicate bur ragweed on all lands owned or supervised by them.  Methods used for control must prevent both the production of viable seed and destroy the plant’s ability to reproduce by vegetative means.  Infestation sites must be monitored after control methods have been accomplished to ensure that dormant seeds in the seedbank do not germinate and establish new infestations.