Weeds: Summer Annual Seedlings

Barnyardgrass
(Echinochloa crus-galli) Grass family; summer annual; first leaf dull gray green; stem flattened, purplish; no ligule.

Large crabgrass
(Digitaria sanguinalis): Grass family; summer annual; first leaf blade linear to lance shaped, with stiff, jagged, and papery ligule; hairs on margins of the collar wide; no auricles; leaves covered with coarse hairs; leaves rolled in bud.

Black nightshade
(Solanum nigrum): Nightshade family; summer annual or short-lived perennial; seed leaves oval and pointed; first true leaves spade shaped with smooth edges; lower surfaces often purple; petioles stems and leaves with some hairs.

Tumble pigweed
(Amaranthus albus): Pigweed family; summer annual; seed leaves 3 to 5 times longer than wide, bright green on surface, magenta on underside; first true leaves spatulate, dark green with wavy margins, red color underneath; midrib with notched tip and bristle at end.

Redroot pigweed
(Amaranthus retroflexus): Pigweed family; summer annual; seed leaves long and narrow with red undersides; first true leaves with notched tips and much broader than seed leaves.

Prostrate pigweed
(Amaranthus blitoides): Pigweed family; summer annual; seed leaves narrow, pointed, 6 to 8 times longer than wide, with magenta undersides; first true leaves broader, with shiny upper surface and usually magenta-tinged undersides; edges somewhat rough.

Common cocklebur
(Xanthium strumarium): Sunflower family; summer annual; seed leaves bright green, shiny on upper surface, pointed, and about 6 times longer than wide; true leaves on seedlings notched on margins and taper to leaf tip; bur may remain attached to base of seedling.

Common lambsquarters
(Chenopodium album): Goosefoot family; summer annual; seed leaves are narrow, with nearly parallel sides; seed leaves and early true leaves dull blue green above and often purple below; young leaves have mealy appearance from coating of  fine translucent granules.

Junglerice
(Echinochloa colona): Grass family; summer annual; grayish, dull green first leaves; several purple bands on surface of leaf blade; no ligule, no auricle.

Common purslane
(Portulaca oleracea): Purslane family; summer annual; seed leaves oblong, somewhat club shaped, succulent, maroon on lower surface, and green or maroon on upper surface; young leaves smooth, succulent, oblong, green on upper surface, maroonish underneath, and broadest around leaf tip, with short petioles.

Morningglories
(Ipomoea spp.): Morningglory family; summer annuals or perennials; seed leaves deeply notched; heart-shaped first true leaves with deep lobes at base; stem below seed leaves maroon at base and green toward leaf tip.

Common sunflower
(Helianthus annuus): Sunflower family; summer annual; seed leaves oblong, joined at base, smooth; first true leaves opposite, elliptical, dull green, covered with short bristly hairs rough to the touch; later leaves alternate, elliptical to lance shaped.

Russian thistle
(Salsola tragus): Goosefoot family; summer annual; cotyledons and first true leaves long and thin; first leaves are fleshy, soft, and weakly spine-tipped; stems slender and flexible, often with reddish purple striations along their length.

Groundcherries
(Physalis spp.): Nightshade family; summer annual or perennial; seed leaves yellow green to gray green; first leaves oval to triangular, with smooth or slightly wavy margins, and a strong odor when crushed.

Witchgrass
(Panicum capillare): Grass family; summer annual; ligule is a fringe of short hairs; auricles are absent; light green to red purple and resembles crabgrass seedling but has slightly narrower leaf blades and longer silky hairs with swollen bases.

Hairy nightshade
(Solanum physalifolium=Solanum sarrachoides): Nightshade family; summer annual; seed leaves narrow, small, and lance shaped with very short soft hairs along edges; first true leaves with wavy edges and prominent veins.

Velvetleaf
(Abutilon theophrasti): Mallow family; summer annual; seed leaves covered with fine, soft hairs; seedlings with one round seed leaf, the other sometimes slightly heart shaped; first true leaves thin and dull, light green, with prominent veins on underside.