1 Leaves 1- or 2-foliolate, if 1-foliolate then deeply notched and appearing bilobed ( Bauhinia, which is also keyed in Key G). |
2 Leaves 1-foliolate ( bilobed) |
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3 Leaflets elliptic to lanceolate, acute at the apex; petals white, not clawed; fruit a pinkish-red berry, mucilagenous or dry at maturity; plants shrubs |
3 Leaves cordate and deeply cleft (appearing 2-foliolate) or if subtly 2-foliolate, the lobes rounded at the ends; petals pink, clawed; fruit an elongated legume; plants shrubs or sometimes vines |
1 Leaves 3-, 5-, to many-foliolate. |
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5 Leaves untoothed and unlobed; fruit a legume |
5 Leaves coarsely toothed or lobed; fruit a berry (except legume in Pueraria) |
6 Leaflets obovate or broadly elliptic (broadest at or above the middle), the teeth or lobes soley or primarily in the apical half of the leaf; plant climbing by tendrils; fruit a blue to black berry. |
7 Plants with leaves trifoliolate only, the blades fleshy, > 1 mm thick when fresh, the leaftlets ovate to oblong; inflorescence axillary (accompanying leaves, not opposing them); [tribe Cayratieae] |
7 Plants often with a mix of well-developed trifoliate leaves and (less-developed) tri- lobed, simple leaves (the lobes or leaflets broadly ovate to ovate- reniform), these herbaceous, the blades thin; inflorescence leaf-opposed; [tribe Cisseae] |
6 Leaflets orbicular or ovate (broadest at the middle or below the middle), the teeth or lobes primarily or solely in the basal half of the leaf; plant climbing by stem twining or by dense, reddish adventitious roots; fruit a legume ( Pueraria) or whitish berry ( Toxicodendron). |
8 Plant climbing by the stem twining; [plant not actually woody, but so robust as to often be assumed to be so] |
8 Plant climbing by dense, reddish adventitious roots attaching the stem to tree trunks or rock outcrops |
4 Plant a shrub or small tree (sometimes scrambling or occasionally high- climbing with the support of other vegetation, but lacking the specialized climbing structures listed above, e.g., Akebia). |
9 Stems armed with small prickles or stout thorns. |
10 Stems with stout thorns at the nodes; fruit a hesperidium (orange-like, but densely hairy) |
10 Stems with many small prickles along the internodes (directly below the nodes; sometimes inconspicuous on the vegetative stems of Erythrina); fruit various: either a legume, berry, an aggregate of drupelets, or a hip. |
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11 Leaflet bases cuneate to rounded, unlobed (sometimes cleft), but lacking 2 rounded, lateral lobes at their bases; fruit either a drupe ( Eleutherococcus), berry ( Triphasia), OR a hip or aggregate of drupelets (ROSACEAE); corolla variously colored. |
12 Flowers 3 -merous (sometimes with 4 or rarely with 5 petals); fruit a glabrous berry, reddish when ripened; [uncommon non-native, s. FL] |
12 Flowers 4- or 5 -merous (with 4 or 5 petals); fruit a drupe, an aggregate of drupes, or a hip; [collectively widespread natives and non-natives, including s. FL]. |
13 Inflorescence a compound umbel, notably rounded in shape; leaves 3-5-foliolate (often trifoliolate, sometimes palmately compound); fruit a drupe; [uncommon non-native, n. FL] |
13 Inflorescence a panicle, not notably rounded in shape; leaves 3 or more foliolate; fruit an aggregate of drupelets or a hip; [natives and non-natives; widespread] |
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14 Leaflets serrulate, crenulate, serrate, with a few coarse and jagged teeth ( spine-tipped or not), or shallowly lobed ( Erythrina). |
15 Leaflets serrulate or crenulate ( crenulate teeth minute in Murraya, look closely). |
16 Leaflets 3-11 (usually 5+ per leaf, also keyed in F5); fruit a fleshy berry, red to dark orange at maturity; [uncommon non-native, s. FL] |
16 Leaflets usually 3 (leaves typically trifoliolate); fruit a conspicuously winged samara (dry at maturity), greenish-brown at maturity; [natives, c. FL northward and westward] |
15 Leaflets serrate, with a few coarse and jagged teeth ( spine-tipped or not), or shallowly lobed ( Erythrina). |
17 Leaflets with 2 prominent, rounded lobes near the base; fruit a legume; flowers > 3 cm long, corollas bilaterally symmetrical, red, in a terminal raceme |
17 Leaflets serrate and sometimes also cleft, or with a few coarse and jagged teeth ( spine-tipped or not); fruit either a tan or red drupe or a red berry; flowers < 1 cm across, corollas radially symmetrical, green, yellow, or white, in axillary or terminal panicles or racemes |
18 Leaflets with a few spine-tipped teeth; fruit a red berry; [TX westwards] |
18 Leaflets not spine-tipped; fruit a red or tan drupe; [collectively widespread] |
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19 Terminal leaflet sessile. |
20 Leaflets < 2 cm long; stems and branches dark green |
20 Leaflets 2-5 cm long ( Hypelate) or 5-15 cm long ( Ptelea); stems and branches tan to brown |
21 Leaflets obovate to oblanceolate, the apices usually rounded; leaves 2-5 cm long, often congested at branch tips; fruit a fleshy drupe, maroon or black-colored when ripened; flowers arranged in panicles; [s. FL only in our area] |
21 Leaflets usually ovate, the apices acute or acuminate; leaves 5-15 cm long, usually spaced throughout the stems, rarely congested at leaf tips; fruit a samara, brown when ripened; flowers arranged in cymes; [c. FL northward, widespread] |
19 Terminal leaflet with a petiolule. |
22 Fruit a 3-angled capsule, valvate; leaves with a strong scent of horseradish |
22 Fruit a berry, a berry-like drupe, or a legume (not valvate but often dehiscent); leaves lacking a strong scent of horseradish. |
23 Petals white, small (ca. 4 mm long); fruit a pinkish-red berry, mucilagenous or dry at maturity |
23 Petals small to large, variously colored (including white); fruit a legume or if berry like, then white at maturity, often somewhat laterally flattened, and plants vining, rhizomatous shrubs ( Toxicodendron). |
24 Leaves pinnately trifoliolate, a rachis present as an extension of the petiole past the point of attachment of the 2 lateral leaflets, the terminal leaflet borne on a petiolule at the terminus of the rachis, with an obvious joint present between the rachis and petiolule; fruit a legume |
24 Leaves palmately trifoliolate, the terminal leaflet typically with a longer petiolule than the lateral leaflets, but lacking a rachis (the petiolule of the terminal leaflet attached at the same point as the 2 lateral leaflets and unjointed); fruit a white, berry-like drupe ( globose or often laterally somewhat flattened). |
1 Stamens numerous; inflorescences of many flowers arranged in a closely packed sphere or cylinder; leaves replaced by phyllodes, these leathery in texture and often crescent-shaped; [Mimosoid clade] |
1 Stamens 10 (or fewer); inflorescences various, the flowers larger and more diffuse; leaves 1-, 2-, or 3-foliolate, or reduced to phyllodial spines; [subfamily Faboideae or Cercidioideae] |
2 Leaves 1- or 2-foliolate and > 2 cm wide; trees, shrubs, or lianas. |
3 Seeds 1-2 (-4) per fruit; corolla pale yellow, pale pink, or white; longest petals 7-10 mm long; [subfamily Faboideae] |
3 Seeds > 5 per fruit; corolla purplish-pink, bright pink, or white; longest petals 10-100 mm long [subfamily Cercidioideae] |
4 Leaves with a rounded to apiculate apex; flowers strongly bilaterally symmetrical, “pseudopapilionoid”; petals 0.8-1.5 cm long; legumes 4-10 cm long; [natives and exotics, and widely cultivated] |
4 Leaves either unifoliolate with a deeply notched apex or 2-foliolate; flowers slightly bilaterally symmetrical; petals 1.5-8 (-10) cm long; legumes 7-30 cm long; [ exotics, of FL peninsula]. |
5 Shrub or tree; petals 3-8 (-10) cm long |
5 Liana ( climbing by twining and by tendrils); petals 1.5-2.0 cm long |
2 Leaves 3-foliolate, or reduced to phyllodial spines, or 1-foliolate (but then < 2 cm wide); shrubs or woody vines (rarely trees in Erythrina); [subfamily Faboideae]. |
6 Woody vine ( Pueraria, a robust herbaceous vine, is also keyed here as a failsafe). |
7 Leaves glandular beneath; terminal leaflets 1.3-4 cm long |
7 Leaves eglandular beneath; terminal leaflets 5-20 cm long. |
8 Terminal leaflet 1.5-2.5× as long as wide; corolla yellow; legume 4-6 cm wide; seeds 2-3 cm wide |
8 Terminal leaflet 0.8-1.3× as long as wide; legume 0.8-1.3 cm wide; seeds < 1 cm wide; corolla purplish or red. |
9 Calyx 4.5-6 mm long; leaflets unlobed; [tribe Phaseoleae] |
9 Calyx 10-12 mm long; leaflets generally lobed; [tribe Phaseoleae] |
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10 Shrub with angled or flanged green twigs; leaves palmately trifoliolate, unifoliolate, or reduced to spine-tipped phyllodes; [introduced]; [tribe Genisteae]. |
11 Flowers red-purple; calyx 2-3 mm long; [tribe Galegeae] |
11 Flowers bright yellow; calyx 3-15 mm long; [tribe Genisteae] |
12 Leaves all reduced to phyllodial spines; flowers axillary; calyx 10-15 mm long |
12 Leaves with normal lamina, either 1-foliolate or 3-foliolate; flowers in terminal racemes; calyx 3-6 mm long. |
13 Leaves 3-foliolate lower on the stem, often 1-foliolate above; corolla 15-22 mm long |
13 Leaves 1-foliolate throughout; corolla either 10-14 mm or 20-25 mm long |
14 Corolla 10-14 mm long; fruits 1.5-3 cm long |
14 Corolla 20-25 mm long; fruits 5-10 cm long |
10 Shrub or tree with twigs various, but not conspicuously green or flanged; leaves pinnately trifoliolate or unifoliolate. |
15 Leaflet margins toothed; [rare waif]; [tribe Trifolieae] |
15 Leaflet margins entire; [collectively common and widespread]. |
16 Leaves unifoliolate; [tribe Genisteae] |
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17 Corolla 15-50 mm long, yellow or scarlet; legume with several seeds; leaflets lobed or not; [tribe Phaseoleae] |
18 Corolla 15-21 mm long, yellow; leaflets unlobed; leaflets densely yellow glandular- punctate |
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17 Corolla 8-15 mm long, purplish, pink, or white; legume 1-seeded; leaflets not lobed. |
19 Foliage glandular- punctate; [tribe Psoraleae] |
19 Foliage eglandular; [tribe Desmodieae] |