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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 |
18 Corolla 30-50 mm long, scarlet; leaflets lobed or not; leaflets eglandular |
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] |