Q: I have a lot of broadleaf weeds growing in my yard. How do I identify them so I can use an appropriate weed killer? Is there a site on the Web that has a catalog of weeds? I don’t want to become an authority – I just want to get rid of them!

A: Your quest makes sense but I was surprised to find only a few sites that attempt to meet your needs.

The Virginia Tech Weed Index has lots of pictures, but you have to know the common name of the weed before it will show you its picture.

I found Weeds of Mississippi in a state 4-H weed contest study guide. It too requires you to know the common name and doesn’t have thumbnail sketches of the weed pictures.

Even though you don’t want to become an authority, wouldn’t you like to toss around words like ligule, ocrea and auricle at the next neighborhood cookout? If so, check out Weed Identification Using Plant Structures (broken).

To be honest, I  prefer “Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses“, a great book of color pictures and descriptions of the 190 most common weeds of the region. With it in hand, you can wander down any sidewalk in town and identify most weeds by sight!

This Rutgers site is useful as well.