Common chickweed is best described as which growth habit?

• A. A hardy, low-growing annual or winter annual with creeping stems that root at the nodes.
• B. A woody perennial shrub.
• C. A warm-season perennial grass.
• D. A broadleaf evergreen weed.

Answer: (A)

Common chickweed grows as a low, spreading mat. It behaves as an annual or winter annual, germinating in cool weather and sending slender stems that creep along the soil and root at the nodes where they touch. That creeping, node-rooting habit lets it form dense turfs that quickly outpace grass in moist, shaded areas. It’s an herbaceous plant, not woody, and it dies back in hot weather, so it isn’t a warm-season perennial. It isn’t a shrub or a grass, and it isn’t evergreen, fitting poorly with those growth forms.