Kochia

Common Name: Kochia

Other Names: Mexican Fireweed

Species Name: Kochia scoparia

Plant Type: Broadleafs/Herbaceous

Family Name: Chenopodiaceae

Plant Facts
Origin	Introduced, Asia
Duration	Annual
Season	Warm
Distribution in the U.S.	Common throughout the Great Plains
Distribution in Oklahoma	Found in most parts of the state

ID Characteristics

Field Identification Characteristics
- Leaves are narrowly ovate, flat, 1-5 prominent veins; margins entire, fringed with hairs; surfaces nearly without hair to pubescent; short-petioled
- Stems are erect, highly branched, turning red with age, surfaces without hair to pubescent
- Inflorescence is a spike and is axillary and terminal
- Seed is very small in size, oval in shape, and brown to black in color
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
- Leaf Type: Simple
- Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
- Leaf Shape: Linear
- Stipules: Absent
Floral Characteristics
- Petal Number: 5, winged; paired in leaf-like bracts, enveloped by tufts of hair
- Flower Color: Green
- Flower Timing: July-October
- Fruit Type: Utricle, globose, calyx persistent; seeds 1
- Inflorescence: Spike, axillary and terminal

Habitat/Ecology
Habitat	Cultivated fields, gardens, roadsides, ditchbanks and waste areas
Successional Stage

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