Goatsrue

(Click on an image below to see the captioned full-size version)
Figure 1		Figure 2		Figure 3		Figure 4		Figure 5		Figure 6
Figure 7		Figure 8		Figure 9

Scientific Name: Galega officinalis
Common Names: Goatsrue, Goat’s rue, Professor weed

Habitats:
Cropland, water-ways, pastures, fencelines, roadways, and wet, marshy areas

Key ID Features
	Perennial legume that ranges from 2-6 feet in height. (Figure 1)
	Alternate, pinnately compound leaves with 6-10 pairs of leaflets (1- 5cm long). Tip of each leaflet has a small hair-like appendage. (Figure 2)
	Stipules (leaf-like appendage at the base of each leaf) are arrowhead shaped. (Figure 3)
	Stems are hollow and cylindrical.
	Purple to white, pea-like flowers are borne in terminal or axillary racemes containing 20-50 flowers. Plant blooms from June throughout the growing season. (Figure 4)
	Seed pods are narrow and about 1 inch long. (Figure 5)
	Seeds are dull yellow, bean shaped and approximately 2.5-3mm long. (Figure 6)

Similar species:

Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota)
	Stems are solid.
	Seed pods are bur-like with hooked bristles. (Figure 7)
	Mature leaves have glandular dots.

Vetches (Vicia spp.)
	Trailing and vine-like
	Terminal leaf modified into a twining tendril.
	Mature pods are flat. (Figure 8)

Crown vetch (Coronilla varia)
	Trailing and vine-like
	Flowers arranged in an umbel (all flowers radiate from a central point). (Figure 9)

Fact sheets and references:
Goatsrue wanted poster from Massachusetts
http://massnrc.org/pests/linkeddocuments/Goat%27s-Rue.pdf

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Profile for Galega officinalis L.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GAOF

Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board: Goatsrue
http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/detail.asp?weed=54

King County Noxious Weed Program Pest Alert for Goatsrue
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/goatsrue.aspx

Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States: Goatsrue
http://www.invasive.org/eastern/other/Galega.html

Wanted Poster by the Nevada Weeds Project
http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/other/fs9906.pdf

last reviewed December 30, 2014