Annual Knawel - Scleranthus annuus
Other Names:
German Knotweed
Puberulent annual. Stems to 15 cm, ascending to erect, branched below. Leaves linear, pungent, 5–10 mm long, the scarious bases united around the stem. Inflorescence terminal and axillary, congested cymes. Flowers: sepals leathery, 2–4 mm long, united below into a short 10-veined tube with lanceolate lobes; petals absent; stamens 5 to 10; styles 2, exserted from the tube. Fruit a utricle enclosed in the hardened calyx (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).