What type of weed germinates in the spring or summer, matures, and dies in the fall?

The correct answer is summer annual. Summer annual weeds are plants that complete their entire life cycle—germination, growth, reproduction, and death—within a single growing season, typically from spring through fall. They germinate in the spring or early summer, grow rapidly, produce seeds, and then die off with the onset of cooler autumn temperatures. This life cycle adaptation allows them to take advantage of the warm conditions and abundant resources available in the summer months.

Understanding the characteristics of other types of weeds provides further clarity. Perennial weeds, for instance, live for multiple seasons and can return year after year. Winter annuals germinate in the fall, over-winter, and then mature in the spring or early summer before dying off. Biennial weeds typically have a two-year life cycle, where they germinate in one season, grow vegetatively in the first year, and flower and set seed in the second year. Each of these other types of weeds has a distinctly different life cycle compared to summer annuals, highlighting the unique growth pattern of the summer annual weed in particular.