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Scientific name: Poa annua

Higher classification: Meadow-grasses

Rank: Species

Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is a cool-season, annual grass that spreads by seed. Annual bluegrass has a tufted habit with a bright green leaf color and fine texture. It is native to Europe and is found worldwide. Annual bluegrass grows with a clumping growth habit. Generally appears in bunches. Leaves are folded in the bud and have a boat-shaped leaf tip. They have a wrinkled section near the middle of the blade and the seed-head is triangular in shape

Scientific name: Lolium multiflorum 

Higher classification: Ryegrass 

Rank: Species

Festuca perennis is a ryegrass native to temperate Europe, though its precise native range is unknown. It is a herbaceous annual, biennial, or perennial grass that is grown for silage, and as a cover crop. It is also grown as an ornamental grass. Annual ryegrass grows in clumps. The plant base is purple and the leaves are dark and shiny with smooth edges. The bud is rolled in the center of the plant. You'll notice spikelets at the top near the seedheads.

Scientific name: Medicago lupulina 

Higher classification: Medick 

Order: Fabales 

Rank: Species

Medicago lupulina, commonly known as black medick, nonesuch, or hop clover, is a plant of dry grassland belonging to the legume or clover family. Plants of the genus Medicago, or bur clovers, are closely related to the true clovers and sweet clover. The plant is hairy, especially the stems. Leaves are alternate to one another and are divided into three egg-to-heart shaped leaflets with somewhat toothed edges. The stalk of the middle leaflet is longer. They are yellow and generally cluster to form a rounded head. 

Scientific name: Plantago major

Higher classification: Plantago

Rank: Species

Family: Plantaginaceae

Species: P. major

Kingdom: Plantae

Plantago major, the broadleaf plantain, white man's foot, or greater plantain, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. The plant is native to most of Europe and northern and central Asia, but has widely naturalised elsewhere in the world. When plantains infest turf, they grow in dense clumps. The smooth, oval leaf blades are 2 to 6 inches in length. The young plants form a small rosette. The flowering stalk ends with a spike head containing seeds that can be 2 to 6 inches in length.

Scientific name: Geranium carolinianum

Higher classification: Crane's-bill

Rank: Species

Order: Geraniales

Family: Geraniaceae

Kingdom: Plantae

Geranium carolinianum is a species of geranium known by the common name Carolina crane's-bill, or Carolina geranium. This species is native to North America, where it is widespread and grows in many types of habitat. Identified by its elongated stems growing vertically and branching near the base. The stems are greenish-pink in color and hairy. Their leaves are also hairy on top and bottom and divided into five segments. Flowers are pale pink or white. 

Scientific name: Mollugo verticillata
Higher classification: Mollugo
Rank: Species
Family: Molluginaceae

Mollugo verticillata, the green carpetweed, is a rapidly spreading annual plant from tropical America. In eastern North America, it is a common weed growing in disturbed areas. It forms a prostrate circular mat that can quickly climb over nearby plants and obstacles. Leaf surfaces are dull green and smooth with pale undersides and are pinkish brown in color toward the base. The stems are smooth. They are usually small and grow horizontal in circular mats.

Scientific name: Galium aparine

Higher classification: Galium

Rank: Species

Order: Gentianales

Galium aparine with many common names including hitchhikers, cleavers, clivers, bedstraw, goosegrass, catchweed, stickyweed, sticky bob, stickybud, stickyback, robin-run-the-hedge, sticky willy, sticky. The seed leaves are oblong to egg-shaped with slightly notched tips, lacking hairs, and range from 1/2 to 1 inch. Mature catchweed has stems up to 6 feet long and form dense and tangled mats over vegetation. Flowers are small and greenish-white on short branches.

Scientific name: Stellaria media

Higher classification: Chickweeds

Order: Caryophyllales

Rank: Species

Family: Caryophyllaceae

Species: S. media

Stellaria media, chickweed, is an annual and perennial flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout the world. This species is used as a cooling herbal remedy, and grown as a vegetable crop and ground cover for both human and poultry consumption.Leaves are smooth and oval with a point at the tip. It has tiny white flowers that are about 1/4" in diameter. The stems trail along the ground and growing ends may be upright and grow up to 8" tall.

Scientific name: Trifolium 

Family: Fabaceae 

Higher classification: Trifolieae 

Kingdom: Plantae 

Order: Fabales

Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus Trifolium, consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. Stems creep along the ground and can grow to between 4 and 12 inches long. Leaves alternate with one another and consist of three leaflets. Each leaflet is up to 1/2 an inch long, nearly hairless, and may have a whitish crescent in the center. Tiny white to pale pink flowers cluster into egg-shaped flower heads.

Scientific name: Digitaria 

Higher classification: Anthephorinae 

Order: Poales 

Rank: Genus 

Germination temperature: around 55°F

Digitaria is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and warm temperate regions but can occur in tropical, subtropical, and cooler temperate regions as well. Common names include crabgrass, finger-grass, and fonio. The leaf blades are a quarter inch wide and about the thickness of a pencil. When it first appears, the leaf blades angle out from the stem. As the stems get larger, they tend to fall out into a star pattern. 

Scientific name: Oenothera laciniata 

Higher classification: Evening-primroses Rank: Species 

Order: Myrtales 

Family: Onagraceae

Oenothera laciniata is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name cutleaf evening primrose. It is native to the eastern United States but it can be found in many other places as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. The leaves are simple, either elliptic or lance-shaped. The leaf blade is narrow with deep irregular notches on the sides. The leaves are alternately arranged on the stems, which are reddish in color.  Its leaves are covered with tiny hairs that secrete a toxic substance. If the leaves are touched, an immediate irritation can occur, forming blisters. In addition to its effect on humans, this plant is toxic to cats, dogs, and horses if ingested. May cause vomiting.

Scientific name: Paspalum dilatatum 

Higher classification: Crowngrass 

Rank: Species 

Order: Poales

Paspalum dilatatum is a species of grass known by the common name dallisgrass, Dallas grass, or sticky heads. It is native to Brazil and Argentina, but it is known throughout the world as an introduced species and at times a common weed. Its rapid growth and spreading rhizomes make it an invasive pest in some areas. Coarse in texture, it grows in a clump and increases in diameter as you approach the stem. The leaf blades are fairly wid, 1/4" to 1/2". The rhizomes have short internodes that look like concentric rings on its surface.

Scientific name: Gamochaeta purpurea Order: Asterales 

Rank: Species

Gamochaeta purpurea, the purple cudweed, purple everlasting, or spoonleaf purple everlasting, is a plant native to North America. The cudweed family of weeds grow in basal rosettes. Both the leaves and seed-heads are covered in fine, white "woolly" fibers and are oval-shaped. In winter, they will remain as a rosette, but will grow a stem with purple flowers in spring.

Scientific name: Portulaca oleracea 

Higher classification: Purslanes 

Rank: Species

Family: Portulacaceae 

Kingdom: Plantae 

Species: P. oleracea 

Order: Caryophyllales

Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae, which may reach 40 cm in height. Approximately forty cultivars are currently grown. Stems are reddish-green and thick, creep along the ground, and rarely grow more than 4" tall. The leaves are paddle-shaped and can be up to 2" long. This is considered an edible weed, but be sure not to confuse it with Spurge, which is NOT edible.

Scientific name: Ambrosia 

Higher classification: Daisy family 

Kingdom: Plantae 

Tribe: Heliantheae 

Order: Asterales

Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, especially North America, where the origin and center of diversity of the genus are in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It can grow up to 5 feet tall and has hairy stems and light green leaves, up to 4" long. Ragweed flowers are yellowish-green and small. They grow in clusters up to 6" long near the top of the plant. It blooms in late summer to early fall.

Scientific name: Capsella bursa-pastoris Higher classification: Shepherd's-Purses 

Order: Mustards and allies 

Kingdom: Plantae 

Rank: Species

Capsella bursa-pastoris, known as shepherd's purse because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a small annual and ruderal flowering plant in the mustard family. The weed first forms a rosette, then a stem emerges that can grow up to 20 inches tall. Leaves are lightly covered in hairs and vary in shape but are deeply lobed. The flower stems are single or branched. Flowering takes place in late winter or early spring. The four white flower petals are sometimes tinged pale pink.

Scientific name: Euphorbia 

Higher classification: Spurges

Order: Malpighiales 

Rank: Genus

Euphorbia is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the spurge family. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae, not just to members of the genus. There are many kinds of spurge, but most are low-growing, creeping weeds that form a dense mat if left to mature. Leaves are oval and can be reddish brown. The stems exude a milky white sap if broken. 

Scientific name: Allium ursinum 

Higher classification: Allium 

Order: Asparagales 

Rank: Species 

Family: Amaryllidaceae 

Species: A. ursinum

Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, wild cowleek, ramsons, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland. 8" to 12" tall with long pointed leaves and white flowers that appear directly from the bulb.

Scientific name: Allium canadense 

Higher classification: Allium 

Order: Asparagales 

Rank: Species

Allium canadense, the Canada onion, Canadian garlic, wild garlic, meadow garlic and wild onion is a perennial plant native to eastern North America from Texas to Florida to New Brunswick to Montana. The species is also cultivated in other regions as an ornamental and as a garden culinary herb. Much like wild garlic it grows 8" to 12" tall with thin, waxy, spear-like leaves that appear directly from the bulb.

Scientific name: Viola sororia 

Higher classification: Violet 

Order: Malpighiales 

Rank: Species

Viola sororia, known commonly as the common blue violet, is a short-stemmed herbaceous perennial plant that is native to eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names, including common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet. Best known for their violet flowers, but they can bloom in other colors such as light blue and white. The leaves are heart-shaped but may also taper to a fine point.

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