Weed taxonomy
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Some families of plants contain a disproportionate number of weeds. The major weed families are the Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae and the Brassicaceae (See Table).


The major weed families (Adapted from Hill 1977 and Akobundu 1987). *data not available.
Family Number of major weed species in the world Number of major and minor weed species North America
Poaceae 44 65
Asteraceae 32 112
Cyperaceae 12 *
Brassicaceae * 61
Lamiaceae * 60
Fabaceae 6 54
Scrophulariaceae * 30
Polygonaceae 8 *
Convolvuaceae 5 *
Euphorbiaceae 5 *
Malvaceae 4 *
Solanaceae 4 *
Total 126 435

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Steve Adkins