Weed Identification

John B – posted 11 July 2004 09:42

Greetings, this is my first post. I’m located in SE Georgia and I have a weed identification question.

This weed has runners that are somewhat woody and are purplish in color. The leaves have a similar color as well. There are blooms present that are white in color with4 petals.

I have tried a number of herbicides but to date have had little luck. I realize that a picture would be best, but my camera is on the fritz and hopefully there is someone in my area that is familiar with this particular weed.

Thanks in advance

John B

ted – posted 11 July 2004 21:19

certainly sounds like virginia buttonweed- find some pics on the web to help id it, or try to post a pic

John B – posted 13 July 2004 05:23

Ted, thanks for the response. I’m attaching, I hope, a picture of the weed.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v354/jr45acp/weed_1.jpg

seed – posted 13 July 2004 08:43

It sure looks like Virginia buttonweed to me, certainly it is in the Rubiaceae or coffee family. The photo shows pointy opposite leaves, probably cupping interpetiolar stipules, and the flower has a whitish corolla with 4 lobes like a star, which is typical of the herbaceous members of this family, such as Old World diamondflower, species of Soliva, Richardia, and Diodia, which this is. They are all hard to kill, especially in St. Augustinegrass where we are limited to a degree in the use of phenoxy herbicides.

Phil

ted – posted 16 July 2004 17:37

sorry for the slow response- it is most definitely virginia buttonweed a.k.a. star of bethlehem and about a thouseand other names like most weeds….the problem is that it has a waxy coating that makes it nearly impossible to penetrate with a herbicide- roundup won’t even touch it! there’s a product out there that works, but was removed from the market ( of course!) i’ll try to research this for you. in the meantime try using a 24d type product with a surfactant ( soap) in it. it may work with repeated applications. be careful with the warm temps…

joeholler – posted 12 August 2004 18:53

Ditto on the Virginia buttonweed and dam, I cannot get rid of it either. Been unseasonable wet and I have partial shade. Any ideas out there. I am providing link below:

http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/11828/