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Key to Malvaceae

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1 Petals absent; carpels 5, whorled, each expanding into a stalked and papery structure which bears 1-4 pea-sized seeds along its margins; tree; leaves 10-40 cm wide, 3-5 lobed, the lobes acute, the margins entire; [subfamily Sterculioideae]
1 Petals present; carpels 1, 5, or many, united or separate, but not as above; tree, shrub, or herb; leaves< 15 cm wide, lobed or unlobed, but if lobed then also serrate.
..2 Epicalyx of bracts (immediately subtending the calyx) absent.
....3 Stamens 3 or 5; [subfamily Byttnerioideae].
......4 Flowers solitary or in 2-3-flowered fascicles in leaf axils; petals hooded, caducous; capsules with prickles 0.3-0.5 mm long
......4 Flowers in capitate or umbellate clusters of > 4 flowers; petals flat, persistent; capsules smooth or hairy.
........5 Ovary with 5 carpels and 5 styles; capsule with 5-10 seeds; corolla pink, purple, or white
........5 Ovary with 1 carpel and 1 style; capsule with 1 seed; corolla orange to yellow
....3 Stamens >10.
..........6 Stamens free.
............ 7 Tree; fruit a woody drupe; [subfamily Tilioideae]
............ 7 Herb or shrub; fruit a capsule; [subfamily Grewioideae, tribe Apeibeae].
............ ..8 Leaves rounded or subcordate at base, acute at apex; fruit much longer than broad, unarmed
............ ..8 Leaves cuneate at base, acuminate at apex; fruit subglobose, with hooked spines
..........6 Stamens united into a staminal column adnate to the corolla at its base; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Malveae].
............ ....9 Seeds 2 or more per carpel
............ ....9 Seed 1 per carpel.
............ ......10 Leaves palmately and deeply cleft (> 9/10s of the way to the midrib) into linear segments
............ ......10 Leaves unlobed or lobed (if lobed , < 4/5’s of the way to the midrib and the lobes broad).
............ ........11 Flowers many in a terminal panicle; corolla white; style branches filiform, the stigmatic surface elongate along the inner side of the branches; leaves >10 cm wide, deeply 5-9-lobed; plants 1-2 m tall
............ ........11 Flowers solitary or a few in leaf axils (or many in a terminal panicle in Sida hermaphrodita); corolla blue-purple, yellow, or white; style branches truncate, the stigmatic surface terminal and capitate; leaves < 2 cm wide, unlobed (or leaves > 10 cm wide and deeply 3-7-lobed in Sida hermaphrodita); plants < 1 m tall (or 1-4 m tall in Sida hermaphrodita).
............ ..........12 Corolla blue to purple; lateral walls of the carpels disintegrating at maturity of the fruit
............ ..........12 Corolla yellow or white; lateral walls of the carpels persistent
............ ............ 13 Leaves deeply palmately lobed; plants 1-2 (-4) m tall; petals white
............ ............ 13 Leaves unlobed; plants 0.2-1 m tall; petals yellow
..2 Epicalyx of bracts (immediately subtending the calyx) present.
............ ............ ..14 Fruit a loculicidal capsule or fleshy and berry-like.
............ ............ ....15 Fruit fleshy and berry-like; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Hibisceae]
............ ............ ....15 Fruit a loculicidal capsule.
............ ............ ......16 Calyx spathe-like, soon falling after anthesis; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Hibisceae]
............ ............ ......16 Calyx radially symmetrical, 5-lobed.
............ ............ ........17 Style branches short, erect, the stigmas nearly sessile; epicalyx bracts 3, large, foliaceous, and incised; seeds bearing long white fibers; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Gossypiae]
............ ............ ........17 Style branches elongate, spreading; epicalyx bracts 6-15, linear to lanceolate and untoothed; seeds sometimes pubescent but not with long white fibers; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Hibisceae].
............ ............ ..........18 Locules of the fruit several-seeded; capsule longer than broad, the apex pointed or rounded; petals yellow, white, red, or pink (if pink, then > 4 cm long, or the plant a shrub)
............ ............ ..........18 Locules of the fruit 1-seeded; capsule depressed-globose, indented at the apex; petals pink, 2-4 cm long
............ ............ ..14 Fruit of radially disposed, 1- to several-seeded, dry carpels that split apart at maturity.
............ ............ ............ 19 Bracts of the epicalyx 5 or more.
............ ............ ............ ..20 Shrubs or woody herbs, with leaves not basally disposed; flowers in axils of well-developed leaves; fruit spiny (or lacking spines in Pavonia hastata); [of SC southward]; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Hibisceae].
............ ............ ............ ....21 Bracts of the epicalyx 5-15, distinct; fruit with 0-3 spines per carpel; leaves lacking foliar nectaries
............ ............ ............ ....21 Bracts of epicalyx 5, fused basally; fruit covered with numerous glochidiate spines; leaves with 1-3 foliar nectaries (glands) on undersurface near base
............ ............ ............ ..20 Herbs, with leaves basally disposed; flowers in terminal bracteates spikes or racemes; fruit lacking spines; [collectively widespread]; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Malveae].
............ ............ ............ ......22 Plant 1.5-3 m tall, usually unbranched; flowers 6-10 cm across
............ ............ ............ ......22 Plant 0.5-1.2 m tall, branched; flowers 2-3 cm across
............ ............ ............ 19 Bracts of the epicalyx 2-3; [subfamily Malvoideae; tribe Malveae].
............ ............ ............ ........23 Ovules and seeds 2 or more per carpel.
............ ............ ............ ..........24 Herb 0.5-2.5 m tall, upright; petals 2-3 cm long, pink-purple; carpels not beaked at the tip
............ ............ ............ ..........24 Herb to 0.5 m tall, prostrate to ascending; petals 0.3-0.5 cm long, orange-red; carpels beaked at the tip
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Leaf blades 1.5-8× as long as wide.
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Style branches filiform, the stigmatic surface elongate along the inner side of the branches
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Style branches truncate, the stigmatic surface terminal and capitate
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Leaf blades orbicular, about as wide as long.

Key N1: herbaceous dicots with mainly basal, compound leaves

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1 Leaves either 2-3-foliolate or palmately 4-11-foliolate (all the leaflets attached at a common point).
..2 Leaves 2-foliolate; fruit a capsule, opening by a circumscissile lid
..2 Leaves either 3-foliolate or palmately or pedately 4-11-foliolate.
....3 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamens 5, the fruit a cypsela
....3 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above.
......4 Inflorescence an umbel; ovary inferior; fruit a mericarp of 2 schizocarps
......4 Inflorescence various, usually not an umbel (sometimes an umbel in Oxalis in OXALIDACEAE); ovary superior; fruit an aggregate, legume, berry, or 2-valved capsule.
........5 Leaflets either entire or barely and very shallowly crenulate or notched at the tip (but otherwise entire).
..........6 Inflorescence a spadix, surrounded by a spathe; fruit a berry; [Monocots {illogically keyed here because of the likelihood of being mistaken for a dicot}]
..........6 Inflorescence a raceme or umbel, not surrounded by a spathe; fruit a capsule or legume; [Eudicots].
............ 7 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical; fruit a legume; [plant of uplands]
............ 7 Flowers radially symmetrical; fruit a 2-valved or 5-valved capsule; [plant of uplands or wetlands]
............ ..8 Leaflets not notched at the tip; flowers white; [plants of saturated saturated or ponded wetlands]
............ ..8 Leaflets notched at the tip; flowers pink, white, or yellow; [plants of uplands or temporarily flooded wetlands]
........5 Leaflets serrate, serrulate, or cleft.
............ ....9 Petals 4; stamens 6; fruit a silique
............ ....9 Petals 5 or more; stamens 10 or more; fruit either a legume or an aggregate of achenes or follicles
............ ......10 Stamens many, fused into a staminal tube; carpels 10-20, in a ring; pubescence stellate (sometimes mixed with simple hairs)
............ ......10 Stamens 10-many, separate, or fused but not all into a staminal tube; carpel either 1 (FABACEAE), or 3-7 in a ring (RANUNCULACEAE), or many and spirally arranged on a conical receptacle (RANUNCULACEAE or ROSACEAE)
............ ........11 Leaflets serrulate; flowers bilaterally symmetrical; fruit a legume; corolla variously colored, including white
............ ........11 Leaflets serrate; flowers radially symmetrical; fruit an aggregate of achenes or of follicles; corolla white or yellowish or greenish.
............ ..........12 Fruit an aggregate of follicles
............ ..........12 Fruit an aggregate of achenes (borne on a fleshy, expanded receptacle in Fragaria and some Potentilla)
............ ............ 13 Flowers lacking a hypanthium
............ ............ 13 Flowers with a hypanthium
1 Leaves 1-pinnately compound (all leaflets attached to a central rachis) or more complexly compound (with several orders of branching, some leaflets at least attached to second-order branches from the rachis).
............ ............ ..14 Leaves 1-pinnately compound (all leaflets attached to a central rachis).
............ ............ ....15 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamens 5, the fruit a cypsela
............ ............ ....15 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above.
............ ............ ......16 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical; fruit a legume
............ ............ ......16 Flowers radially symmetrical; fruit a silique/silicle, or a schizocarp of mericarps, or an achene.
............ ............ ........17 Petals 4; stamens 6; fruit a silique/silicle
............ ............ ........17 Petals 0 or 5 (if 0, the sepals petaloid); stamens 2, 4, 5, or many.
............ ............ ..........18 Stamens 5; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps
............ ............ ..........18 Stamens 2, 4, or many; fruit an achene
............ ............ ..14 Leaves more complexly compound (with 2 or more orders of branching, some leaflets at least attached to second-order branches from the rachis).
............ ............ ............ 19 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamens 5, the fruit a cypsela
............ ............ ............ 19 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head subtended by bracts, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or petals separate, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
............ ............ ............ ..20 Leaf segments or ultimate lobes linear or lanceolate, > 2× as long as wide, < 4 mm wide.
............ ............ ............ ....21 Inflorescence an umbel; ovary inferior; fruit a mericarp of 2 schizocarps
............ ............ ............ ....21 Inflorescence various, but not an umbel; ovary superior; fruit an aggregate of follicles or an elongate capsule.
............ ............ ............ ......22 Carpels 2, fused; fruit an elongate capsule; flowers bilaterally symmetrical
............ ............ ............ ......22 Carpels 5-10 or many, separate; fruit an aggregate; flower radially symmetrical
............ ............ ............ ..20 Leaf segments or ultimate lobes ovate or elliptic, < 3× as long as wide, > 5 mm wide.
............ ............ ............ ........23 Inflorescence an umbel; ovary inferior; fruit a mericarp of 2 schizocarps or a 5-seeded drupe.
............ ............ ............ ........23 Inflorescence various, but not an umbel; fruit an aggregate of follicles or achenes, an elongate capsule, or a naked seed resembling a drupe.
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Leaflets with < 10 ultimate ‘points’ (lobe or tooth terminations), these rounded to broadly acute, often large in comparison to the leaflet and appearing as “sublobes”; pistil 1 or 4-many.
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical; fruit an elongate capsule; [cultivated exotic, rarely persistent near gardens]
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Corolla radially symmetrical; fruit an aggregate of follicles or achenes, or a naked seed resembling a drupe; [native plants of moist to dry forests and rock outcrops].
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Leaflets 5-8 cm long, obviously longer than broad; pistil 1; fruit a naked blue seed resembling a drupe; flowers mainly 3-merous
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Leaflets 1-6 cm long, about as long as broad if > 4 cm long; pistils 4-many; fruit an aggregate of follicles or achenes; flowers mainly 4-5-merous
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Leaflets with >11 ultimate ‘points’ (lobe or tooth terminations), these acuminate to acute; pistils 1-8.
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Pubescence of the stem and lower leaf surface glandular; flowers unisexual, on the same plant (monoecious); stamens 10; pistils 2, partly fused; fruit an aggregate of follicles
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Pubescence of the stem and lower leaf surface non-glandular (or absent); flowers either bisexual (the plants hermaphroditic), or unisexual and the male and female flowers on separate plants (the plants dioecious); stamens 15 or more; pistils 1-8, separate; fruit an aggregate of follicles, a follicle, or a red or white berry.
............ ............ ............ ............ ........29 Flowers bisexual (plants hermaphroditic); carpels 1-8 per flower; inflorescence a raceme, or a panicle of racemes with just a few branches; fruit an aggregate of follicles, a follicle, or a red or white berry
............ ............ ............ ............ ........29 Flowers unisexual (plants dioecious); carpels 3-4 per pistillate flower; inflorescence a panicle of racemes, with numerous branches; fruit an aggregate of follicles
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