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Broadleaf weeds are unwanted pugnacious and tough plants that grow mostly around free areas in a lawn, garden or yard. They are often very easy to spot because they are different from normal grasses. They multiply with ease and can be very hard to control.

Basic characteristics
Broadleaf weeds generally do not spring up in one specific pattern. Some of them are perennial in nature, others come up on annual basis while others are biennial in nature. The perennial ones are often very difficult to control. They keep regenerating despite every effort to control them. The annual and biennial ones are easier to deal with. Looking at their visual nature, broadleaf weeds have wide leaves in common. They also have a main center vein that connects to smaller veins which shoot out from a branch. Despite this, they also differ in various aspects. Most broadleaf weeds develop clusters of blossoms or single flowers as they mature. Such flowers are not aesthetic in nature. They often come in diverse colors such as white, blue, purple, red and so on. Some of them come with mixed colored flowers while others bear single colored flower. Despite this, they still appear unruffled when clustered around a yard or lawn. The roots of most broadleaf weeds are fibrous in nature. Some of them spring up with thin roots. Others spring up with a massive taproot while some of them spring up with both types of root systems. A good number of broadleaf weeds spread through their seeds and rhizomes. Some of them only spread through seeds while others spread through seeds and rhizomes.

Common broadleaf weeds
There are several types of broadleaf weeds growing in lawns, gardens and yards across the globe. Outlined below are the most common broadleaf weeds with their binomial names:

Brambles - Rubus spp.
Bramble is a common perennial  broadleaf weed also known as Blackberries or Raspberries. It grows in an erect form and propagates through its seeds, stolons and rhizomes. Brambles comes with coarsely serrated leaf margin with no leaf hairs. It also has alternate leaf arrangement. It has a taproot system with branching rhizome. Its flower is always white in color.

Butterfly-weed - Asclepias turberosa
Butterfly-weed is also referred to as  Butterfly Milkweed, Chiggar Weeds, or Orange Milkweed. It is a perennial type of broadleaf weed with clumsy growth habit. It spreads through its seeds and rhizomes. Butterfly-weed comes with a large liner leaf structure with alternate leaf arrangement. It has a woody rootstock root system and generates an orange colored flower.

Chickweed common - Stallaria media L.
Chickweed common is also referred to as Alsine media,  Alsine apetala, Arenaria vulgaris, Bindweed, Chickenwort, Craches, Starweed, Satin Flower, Tongue-grass or Winterweed. It comes as both perennial and annual type of broadleaf weed. It has a prostrate growth habit and spreads through seed only. It has smooth leaf margin and egg-shaped leaf structure. It also has a shallow and fibrous root structure and bears a white colored flower.

Chickweed, Mouseear - Cerastium vulgatum L.
Chickweed, Mouseear is also known as Satin Flower, Starweed, Starwort, Tongue Grass or Winter Weed. It is a perennial type of broadleaf weed with a prostrate growth habit. It spreads by its seed. Chickweed, Mouseear comes with a smooth leaf margin and oval leaf structure. It has a fibrous root system and a bears white colored flower.

Chicory - Cichorium intybus L.
Chicory is also referred to as  Blue Succory, Coffee-weed or Common Chicory. It is a typical perennial broadleaf weed that spreads through its seed. It grows in an erect stem with a coarse leaf margin and irregular lobes. It has a dark brown taproot system and generates a blue colored flower.

Clover - Trifolium repens
Clover is also known as Dutch Clover, Purple Dutch Clover or Shamrock. It is a perennial type of broadleaf weed with a prostrate growth habit. It spreads through its solons and seed. It has smallish leaf with teeth and egg-shaped leaf structure alongside alternate leaf arrangement. It also has a fibrous root system and bears white and pink colored flower.

Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale
Dandelion is also referred to as Lions Tooth or Blow-ball. It is a perennial type of broadleaf weed that spreads through its seeds and taproots. It has a coarse leaf margin with alternate leaf arrangement. It also has a thick and long taproot system and has a yellowish flower.

Dogfennel - Eupatorium capillifolium
Dogfennel is also known as Dog's Fennel or Eupatorium faoeiculaceum. It is a perennial type of broadleaf week with an erect growth habit. It spreads through its seed. It comes with serrated leaf margin, dissected leaf structure and alternate leaf arrangement. It also has a fibrous root system and bears a greenish white flower.

Jimsonweed - Datura stramonium
Jimsonweed is also known as Jamestown-weed or Mad-apple. It is an annual type of broadleaf weed with a heavily bracketed and erect growth habit. It spreads through its seed and bears a white or purple flower. It come with a wide leaf margin and alternate leaf arrangement. It also has a shallow taproot system.

Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca
Milkweed is also known as Cottong-weed or Silkweed. It is a perennial type of broadleaf weed with an erect growth habit. It propagates through its seed and bears purple, pink or white flower. It comes with smooth leaf margin and opposite leaf arrangement. Its root type is fleshy roots and rhizomes.

Prostrate knotweed - Polygonum aviculare
Prostrate knotweed is also known as Door-weed, Knot-grass or Mat-grass. It is an annual type of broadleaf week with a prostrate growth habit. It propagates through its seed and bears white, green or pink flowers. It comes with smooth leaf margin with alternate leaf arrangement. It also has a taproot system.

Thistle Canada - Cirsium arvense
Thistle Canada	is also referred to as Creeping Thistle or Small-flowered Thistle. It is a perennial type of broadleaf weed with an erect growth habit. It spreads through its seeds and rhizomes. it also pears pink or purple flowers. The weed comes with alternate leaf arrangement and has an extensive rhizomes root type.

Thistle Bull, Cirsium vulgare
Thistle Bull is also known as Thistle or Sprear. It is a biennial type of broadleaf weed with a basal rosette growth habit. It spreads through its seeds and bears red or purple flower. It comes with an alternate leaf arrangement and has a taproot with secondary fibrous root system.

Violets - Viola papilonacea
Violets is also referred to as Hooded Blue Violet or Meadow-violet. It is a typical example of perennial broadleaf weed that spreads with ease. It propagates through its seeds or rhizomes and bears blue or purple flower. It comes with heart-shaped leaf structure and a coarse root system.

Contrast with other types of weeds
The differences in broadleaf weeds structure and their growth habits make them easy to be distinguished from grasses. Generally, most common weed plants  belong to one of two weed families namely,  broadleaf (Dicot) or narrow leaf (Monocot). Broadleaf weeds grow from  tap roots or fibrous root systems and have larger leaves. Narrow leaf weeds are also referred to as grasses. They have fibrous roots systems and long narrow leaves.

Most broadleaf weeds have leaves with net-like veins. They also have nodes that contain one or more leaves. They may have showy flowers. On the other hand, narrow weeds or grasses do not have net-like veins and nodes that contain more leaves. They can be flat in nature. Moreover, broadleaf weed do have seedlings that come up with two leaves. This is not the case with grasses that can easily spring up at any given time.

Furthemore, grassy weeds are so called because they spring up as desirable grasses. This makes them very hard to be identified when comparing them with broadleaf weeds. Grassy weed come up with blades which showcase as a single leaf from a germinated grass seed. This makes them quite different from broadleaf weeds especially in appearance.

Methods of controlling
Although broadleaf weeds are known to be aggressive and tough in nature, they can still be controlled. The gardens, yards and lawns are the most common place they thrive. There are several ways of controlling them.

Detecting their growth cycle
One of the best ways of dealing with broadleaf weeds  is to detect their growth cycle. This requires proper monitoring. Most plants experts use this method since it has been proven to be the most effective. It involves discovering how broadleaf weeds   grow and deprive them on them  that growth cycle.

Using a weed killer
In situations where there are massive growth of broadleaf weeds, using a good weed killer can be very helpful. This is usually the case for lawns or yards that are overgrown with such weeds. There are several good weed killers available in the market. It is also important to seek the advice of a weed plant expert  when looking for a weed killer.

Hand-picking
In lawns, gardens or yards where there are few broadleaf weeds available, the best approach to use is hand-picking. This involves the use of hand in pulling up the weeds one by one. This should be carried out from time to time in order to checkmate the grown of the weeds.

Lawn mowing
In a thick lawn that is overgrown with broadleaf weeds, the lawn moving method is considered the best approach. This involves the use of a lawn mower in uprooting the weed. It can be very tedious especially in situations where there are massive growth of the broadleaf weeds.

Use of chemical herbicides
There are chemical herbicides meant for controlling broadleaf weeds. The use of such chemicals is often the best option when thinking of clearing the entire yard or lawn of all manner of weeds. In most cases, the chemical content prevent the weeds from re-surfacing for several months. The perennial types of broadleaf weeds  are often controlled with chemical herbicides although they still find their way back after some months  especially when the cleared lawn or yard is  left unused for months.

Shading out
Broadleaf weeds  can be controlled by shading them out. This involves covering the entire  affected area with flat materials such as boards, nylon, plastic spread,  and the like. When broadleaf weeds are covered that way, they lack access to sunlight and rain that speed up their growth. By so do doing, they are left to wither away.