Search
Home > Departments > Noxious Weed > Commonly Found Weeds

Commonly Found Weeds

Field Bindweed - Musk Thistle - Bull Thistle - Sericea Lespedeza- Johnson Grass - Leafy Spurge

Field Bindweed is a perennial broad leaved plant that spreads over the soil and other structures, and often forms mats.  Leaves alternate along the stem, and are egg to arrow shaped.  Flowers are typically white, but may be light pink.

Bull Thistle is a purple shaving brush shape with long sharp spines.  Leaves are very dark green.  Leaf surfaces are covered with rough, short spines which give it a sandpaper feel.  The leaf tip is pointed with a long, sharp spine on the end.

Musk Thistle is a round shaped head (powder puff shaped) and up to 3 inches across.  There are sharp spines attached to the leaf like bracs on the back side of the heads.  No spines on stem just below flower until the first leaf.  Leaves are smooth and waxy on top and bottom, green with light color leaf edges.

Johnson Grass is an upright perennial grass, reproducing by rhizomes and seeds.  Stems up to 6 to 8 feet high or more from a freely branching fibrous root system.  Leaves alternate, simple, relatively wide and long.  Flowers from May until frost and seeds to frost.

Leafy Spurge plants are bright green, up to 2 feet tall, and form dense colonies from an extensive root system.  The juice is a milky latex and has caused poisoning in some livestock.  The plants bloom in early May to July and again in September depending upon the length of the growing season.  True blooming occurs about 10 days after the appearance of the yellow bracts.

Helpful Links