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1 Plants lacking chlorophyll (holoparasitic), with foliage and stems variously pink, purple, brown, tan, orange, or white. |
2 Stem paniculately branched; flowers dimorphic, those low in the inflorescences small, pistillate, and fertile, those high in the inflorescence larger, apparently perfect but functionally staminate; [tribe Orobancheae] |
2 Stem simple (rarely few-branched); flowers all alike. |
3 Calyx deeply cleft on the lower side; stamens exserted; [tribe Rhinantheae] |
3 Calyx either nearly regular, or deeply cleft above and below into 2 lateral halves; stamens included; [tribe Orobancheae]. |
4 Flowers solitary on a long pedicel (appearing as a scape, the true stem entirely underground or nearly so) |
4 Flowers several-many, sessile or subsessile in a dense spike. |
5 Calyx 5- lobed, the lobes subequal, all well-developed |
5 Calyx 2-4- lobed, rarely 5- lobed, but then the fifth lobe minute and much smaller than the other lobes. |
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6 Calyx tubular, with 4 (-5) lobes about the length of the calyx tube; stem branched (except in depauperate individuals) |
1 Plants with chlorophyll (hemiparasitic), with foliage and stems normally green. |
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8 Leaves pinnately lobed; [tribe Rhinantheae] |
8 Leaves entire or 3-5- lobed at the tip. |
9 Bracts subtending flowers orange, red, or yellow; calyx 4- lobed; capsule loculicidal; pedicel lacking bracteoles; seeds broad, wingless; [tribe Castillejeae] |
9 Bracts subtending flowers green; calyx 5- lobed; capsule septicidal and tardily also loculicidal; pedicel with 2 bracteoles; seeds narrow, winged; [tribe Cymbarieae] |
7 Stem leaves (at least the lower) opposite. |
10 Corolla salverform; [tribe Buchnereae]. |
11 Plant strict, unbranched unless damaged; flowers in a terminal spike; corolla purple; [native, sometimes weedy] |
11 Plant strongly branched; flowers solitary and axillary; corolla red or orange; [ exotic, in agricultural fields] |
10 Corolla various, but not salverform. |
12 Calyx 4- lobed or essentially unlobed; corolla strongly bilabiate, the upper lip consisting of 2 petals almost wholly connate and strongly cucullate (hooded); corolla white or yellow; [tribe Rhinantheae]. |
13 Stem leaves pinnately lobed, the lobes rounded and themselves crenate; perennial, 3-8 dm tall |
13 Stem leaves either toothed with acuminate teeth, or entire ( bracteal leaves in and near the inflorescence sometimes pectinately fringed); annual, 1-4 dm tall |
14 Stem leaves toothed with acuminate teeth; seeds 10-18 per capsule |
14 Stem leaves entire ( bracteal leaves in and near the inflorescence sometimes pectinately fringed); seeds 1-4 per capsule |
12 Calyx 5- lobed; corolla 5- lobed, the lobes relatively similar in size and shape, spreading; corolla yellow, orange, red, or pink; [tribe Gerardieae]. |
15 Corolla pink; leaves linear and thread-like (except lanceolate in A. auriculata) |
15 Corolla yellow or orange; leaves either lanceolate or broader, at least the basal pinnately or bipinnately lobed or toothed, or pinnately or bipinnately divided into linear segments. |
16 Leaves pinnately or bipinnately divided into linear segments up to 2 mm wide; corolla rotate, the tube shorter than the lobes |
16 Leaves not lobed or divided, or the segments broader; corolla tubular, campanulate, or funnelform, the tube much longer than the lobes. |
17 Corolla orange, tubular, the tube narrow and straight, > 5× as long as the diameter |
17 Corolla yellow, campanulate or funnelform, the tube conical, < 4× as long as the diameter. |
18 Anthers pubescent; lower leaves < 12 cm long |
18 Anthers glabrous; lower leaves 20-40 cm long |