Flora of the Southeastern United States

Leaves compound.

Leaves trifoliolate; petals 6-10, yellow, conspicuous; fruit a deeply 2-lobed dryish berry; [tribe Jasmineae]

Leaves simple.

Flowers bright yellow, showy; fruit a many-seeded capsule; [tribe Forsythieae]

Flowers white, lilac, or purplish; fruit a drupe or 4-seeded capsule.

Leaves cordate or truncate at the base; fruit a 4-seeded capsule; corolla lobes shorter than the tube; flowers lilac or white, in terminal panicles; [tribe Oleeae, subtribe Ligustrinae]

Leaves cuneate to rounded at the base; fruit a drupe; corolla lobes either shorter or longer than the tube; flowers white or greenish-white, in terminal or lateral panicles or fascicles.

Corolla absent; calyx minute or lacking; flowers in axillary fascicles; [tribe Oleeae, subtribe Oleinae]

Corolla present (often conspicuous and showy); calyx present; flowers in lateral or terminal panicles or in terminal subumbellate clusters.

Corolla lobes 5-12; flowers in terminal subumbellate clusters; [tribe Jasmineae]

Corolla lobes 4; flowers in axillary or terminal panicles or axillary fascicles.

Corolla lobes elongate, much longer than the corolla tube; [tribe Oleeae, subtribe Oleinae]

Corolla lobes short, no longer than the corolla tube.

Inflorescence a many-flowered terminal panicle; leaves generally ovate, elliptic or lanceolate (widest below or at the middle); [tribe Oleeae, subtribe Ligustrinae]

Inflorescence a few-flowered axillary panicle or fascicle; leaves generally oblanceolate or obovate (widest above the middle); [tribe Oleeae, subtribe Oleinae].

Leaf margins entire; leaves usually >7 cm long; inflorescence an axillary panicle (with a central axis); [native tree of Coastal Plain forests]

Leaf margins on at least some leaves coarsely spinose-serrate; leaves < 10 cm long; inflorescence an axillary fascicle (lacking a central axis); [horticulturally planted, rarely naturalizing]

Leaves 2-3-foliolate.

Leaves 2-foliolate, with a branched tendril in the terminal position (this sometimes not developed, or withered); liana

Leaves 3-foliolate, lacking tendrils; shrub, liana, or tree.

Upright shrub or tree.

Leaflets entire, glandular-dotted; [n. FL southwards

Leaflets serrate or serrulate, not glandular-dotted; [collectively widespread].

Leaflets 3-5 (-7), coarsely and jaggedly serrate, with < 5 teeth per leaflet side; fruit a schizocarp of 2 samaroid mericarps (maple “keys”)

Leaflets 3, evenly serrulate, with > 10 teeth per leaflet side; fruit an inflated capsule

Liana or sprawling shrub.

Flowers yellow with fused petals; stems stiff, green

Flowers either white, radially symmetrical, with separate petaloid sepals (Clematis), or blue, bilaterally symmetrical, with fused petals (Vitex).

Leaves 3-more-foliolate; flowers white, radially symmetrical, uniseriate, with white petaloid sepals and no petals

Leaves 1 (-3) foliolate; flowers blue, bilaterally symmetrical, biseriate, with green calyx and blue corolla

Leaves 4-15-foliolate.

Leaves palmately compound.

Leaflets serrate; flowers white, yellow, or red; fruit a leathery capsule, irregularly spheroidal, 2-9 cm in diameter, with 1-3 (-6) large seeds, each with a large pale hilum contrasting with the dark brown color of the rest of the seed

Leaflets entire; flowers blue, pink, or purple; fruit either a 4-seeded drupe, < 0.5 cm in diameter, or an elongated capsule, 8-10 cm long and ca. 0.7 cm in diameter.

Leaflets < 3× as long as wide, broadly rounded at the tip; fruit an elongated capsule, 8-10 cm long and ca. 0.7 cm in diameter [peninsular FL]

Leaflets > 4× as long as wide, acute at the tip; fruit a 4-seeded drupe, < 0.5 cm in diameter; [widespread in our region]

Leaves pinnately compound, bipinnately compound, or more complexly compound.

Plant a liana (woody vine).

Leaves pinnately compound, with 7-15 coarsely serrate leaflets; perianth biseriate, with a green synsepalous calyx and an orange sympetalous corolla; fruit an elongate capsule, with many winged seeds; stems to 20 cm in diameter, with tan bark

Leaves either pinnately compound, the leaflets 3-7 and coarsely serrate, or more complexly compound, the leaflets 5-many, not serrate though often lobed; perianth uniseriate, with a white, pink, or purplish aposepalous calyx and no corolla; fruit an aggregate of plumose achenes; stems to 1 cm in diameter, brown or green

Plant a tree or shrub, with stiff branches.

Leaves 3-7-foliolate and strictly 1-pinnate; leaflets with a few very coarse teeth; 1st year stems green; fruit a pair of winged, asymmetrical samaroid mericarps

Leaves 3-15-foliolate, 1-pinnate or partially 2-pinnate; leaflets evenly serrate with many teeth or entire; 1st year stems tan to brown (very new growth may be green); fruit either a symmetrical (winged) samara (Fraxinus) or a purplish-black, many-seeded berry (Sambucus).

Fruit a purplish-black or red, 4-seeded berry (Sambucus); plant a shrub or small tree; stems hollow or pithy; petiole prominently grooved on the upper side; fresh leaves somewhat fleshy in texture

Fruit either a green or tan, symmetrical (winged) samara or a blackish 5-seeded dryish drupe; plant a small to large tree; stems solid and woody; petiole nearly round in ×-section (not grooved); fresh leaves membranaceous or coriaceous in texture.

Fruit a nearly spherical 5-seeded dry drupe; axillary buds infrapetiolar (hidden by the swollen petiole base; [rarely escaped alien]