Anoda-weed

Anoda cristata is an annual herbaceous plant in the mallow family (Malvaceae), typically growing 30-100 cm tall with an erect or ascending, often branched stem covered in stellate or simple hairs. The leaves are alternate, variable in shape from triangular-ovate to deeply three- to five-lobed or hastate, with toothed margins and long petioles; lower leaves often differ markedly from upper ones. Solitary flowers arise on long axillary peduncles and have five pale lavender, pink, or bluish-purple petals 8-20 mm long, forming a shallow funnel-shaped corolla; the staminal column is characteristic of the family. The fruit is a schizocarp of 10-19 wedge-shaped mericarps, each bearing a distinctive dorsal spine or cusp. The species is native to the Americas from the southern United States through Mexico and Central America to Argentina, occurring as a common weed of cultivated land, roadsides, and disturbed ground.