X
Keyed in multiple places:

Click the number at the start of a key lead to highlight both that lead and its corresponding lead. Click again to show only the two highlighted leads. Click a third time to return to the full key with the selected leads still highlighted.

Key M2: monocots with broad leaves

Plantae

Copy permalink to share | Check for keys that lead to this key

1 Leaves compound.
  2 Plants herbaceous; leaves palmately 3-foliolate or pedately compound
  2 Plants woody; leaves either palmately divided or pinnately compound into > 20 segments
1 Leaves simple.
    3 Leaves opposite or whorled, cauline.
      4 Leaves opposite; flowers bilaterally symmetrical
      4 Leaves whorled; flowers radially or bilaterally symmetrical.
        5 Plant with 2 or more leaf-bearing nodes (all nodes whorled or some alternate).
          6 Leaves broad, < 2× as long as wide, cordate at the base; flowers unisexual and plants dioecious
          6 Leaves lanceolate, oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, > 4× as long as wide, cuneate at the base; flowers bisexual and plants hermaphroditic
        5 Plant with a single leaf-bearing node.
             7 Leaves in whorls of 5 or more leaves.
               8 Stem floccose, wiry (and at maturity with a second smaller whorl with usually 3 leaves subtending the flowers); flowers radially symmetrical
               8 Stem glabrous, fleshy, never with a second whorl; flowers bilaterally symmetrical
    3 Leaves alternate, either cauline or basal.
                 9 Inflorescence a spadix (a dense spike of hundreds of flowers, the rachis thickened and somewhat fleshy) subtended by a spathe (a green, white, orange, yellowish-green, or maroon bract) (spathe missing in Orontium)
                 9 Inflorescence otherwise, a raceme, panicle, cyme, umbel, spike, etc., the flowers arrayed in a more diffuse manner, the central rachis not thickened, the inflorescence subtended or not by green or scarious spathes.
                   10 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical or asymmetrical; fertile stamens 1 or 2 (or 5 in MUSACEAE), often with several staminodes present as well; tepals 6.
                     11 Leaf venation parallel; leaves various in size and shape, if > 3 dm long, then < 1 dm wide; perianth often differentiated into a lip and 5 petaloid tepals
                     11 Leaf venation prominently penni-parallel; leaves large, at least some on a plant with blade > 2 dm long.
                              15 Leaves jointed and swollen at the summit of the petiole, forming a pulvinus.
                                16 Plants aquatic (or at least in very wet soils); bracts not persistent; flowers purple; sepals ≤ 3 mm long; [more widely distributed in southeastern coastal plain, including se. FL (T. geniculata)]
                   10 Flowers radially symmetrical (weakly to strongly bilaterally symmetrical in PONTEDERIACEAE); stamens 6 (rarely 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 15, or 18); tepals usually 6 (rarely 3 or 4), when 6, either undifferentiated (6 or 4 tepals) or differentiated into 3 petals and 3 sepals.
                                    18 Perianth not differentiated, consisting of 6 similarly colored and shaped tepals; flowers strongly to slightly bilaterally symmetrical; inflorescence lacking well-developed spathaceous bracts
                                    18 Perianth differentiated into green sepals and more brightly colored petals; flowers radially symmetrical (or weakly bilaterally symmetrical, as in some Commelina).
                                       19 Ovary superior; fruit a capsule; stamens 6; [plants mainly of uplands (Murdannia and sometimes Commelina of wetlands)]
                                  17 Inflorescence not subtended by spathes, though individual small green bracts sometimes subtending individual flowers.
                                           21 Flowers consisting of white petals and green sepals, with 1-many stamens and 3-many carpels (but not consistently with 9 stamens and 6 carpels); inflorescence a raceme or panicle in whorls of 3, branched; leaf blades flat or terete
                                         20 Gynoecium of 1 pistil; fruit simple, a capsule or berry; inflorescence various, terminal or axillary, but if a raceme or panicle, not with branching in whorls of 3; [upland (or very rarely wetland) plants].
                                                      26 Inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle; fruit a capsule; tepals white, green, yellowish, or pink; flowers either bisexual (Helonias in HELONIADACEAE), or unisexual and primarily on different plants (dioecious) (Chamaelirium in CHIONOGRAPHIDACEAE), or a mix of bisexual and unisexual staminate flowers (Veratrum in MELANTHIACEAE)
                                                        27 Inflorescence ebracteate, lacking bracts subtending pedicels; flowers bisexual (Helonias) or predominantly unisexual and on different plants (dioecious) (Chamaelirium); tepals pink (Helonias) or white to cream (Chamaelirium).
                                                          28 Flowers white to cream; plants dioecious (individual plants either male or female, with all male flowers or all female flowers)
                                                                   32 Leaves strictly alternate; flowers yellow, white, pink, greenish, or maroon; tepals < 5 cm long; inflorescence either a terminal cluster, raceme, panicle or umbel, or an axillary raceme, cluster or solitary flower.
                                                                     33 Inflorescence either a terminal cluster, raceme, or panicle, or an axillary raceme, cluster or solitary flower; flowers actinomorphic, variously colored (most white or yellow), the tepals < 3.5 cm long (except Uvularia grandiflora).
                                                                       34 Leaves arrayed spirally around an erect, unbranched stem; fruit a septicidal capsule; flowers a mixture of bisexual and unisexual (staminate) on a plant; perianth white, greenish white, or maroon.
                                                                         35 Leaves basally disposed; leaves not at all to slightly plicate, 1-14 cm wide; tepals glabrous, 4-9 mm long, 1-3 mm wide (3-5 mm wide in M. hybridum), with either conspicuous (M. hybridum) or diffuse (M. parviflorum and M. woodii) glands; filaments fused to the basal claw of the tepal
                                                                         35 Leaves cauline; leaves strongly plicate, 6-15 cm wide; tepals pubescent, 8-13 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, with a conspicuous pair of glands near the base of the tepal blade (these sometimes more or less fused); filaments free from the tepals
                                                                       34 Leaves arrayed distichously (2 ranked) along an arching, unbranched or dichotomously (Y-forking) branched stem; fruit a berry or loculicidal capsule; flowers all bisexual; perianth white, pink, or yellow.
                                                                           36 Stems of fertile and sterile individuals simple (never branched); inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle (Maianthemum) or axillary racemes or clusters of 1-9 flowers (Polygonatum); fruit a berry.
                                                                           36 Stems of fertile individuals branched (always at least bifurcate), but sterile individuals in some genera characteristically unbranched; inflorescence either of 1 (-2) flower(s) borne in a leaf axil (Uvularia, Streptopus), or of (1) 2 (-3) flowers borne terminally opposite the last leaf (Prosartes); fruit a berry or capsule.
                                                                                  39 Stem brown, wiry, puberulent; last 2 leaves (near stem tip) on each branch approximate to one another (sometimes subopposite) and with noticeably oblique bases; flowers and fruits terminal on the branches
                                                                                  39 Stem green, not wiry, glabrous; last 2 leaves (near stem tip) on each branch no closer together than other leaves, with symmetrical bases; flowers (and fruits) either terminal on the branches or solitary and axillary to most leaves.
                                                                                    40 Flowers and fruits in single terminal clusters (sometimes appearing axillary, but still only one cluster per branch of the stem); tepals pale to rich yellow

Key to terrestrial orchids: Key to Orchidaceae

Copy permalink to share | Check for keys that lead to this key

1 Leaves absent at flowering, or with a solitary leaf with a purplish undersurface withering at about the time of flowering.
  2 Flowers with a spur.
    3 Spur shortly obtuse, lip partially tubular; [s. FL]
    3 Spur long and slender, lip not partially tubular; widespread in our region, south in FL to ne. FL]
  2 Flowers without a spur.
      4 Flowers white, the lip, sepals, and petals all predominantly white.
        5 Lip white with a single central green stripe; leaves often fugacious
        5 Lip white, centrally yellow to greenish-white, occasionally with multiple green veins (as in S. praecox and S. sylvatica); leaves present, absent, or withering (fugacious) at flowering
      4 Flowers pink, greenish, yellowish, or purplish, the lip sometimes white or marked with white, the sepals and petals colored.
             7 Flower solitary; [Mountains of SC, NC, and VA northwards]
             7 Flowers not solitary (inflorescence a raceme); [Coastal Plain of SC southwards]
               8 Lip with 2 fleshy keels near the base; pollinia 4; plants holomycotrophic (without chlorophyll) and never with leaves
               8 Lip with 3-7 keels near the base or extending most of the length of the lip; pollinia 4 or 8; plants either holomycotrophic (without chlorophyll) and never with leaves, or with a plicate winter leaf withering shortly before flowering.
                 9 Plants with a plicate winter leaf withering shortly before flowering (the withered remnant usually detectable); veins of the petals and sepals not strikingly different in color than the intervein areas; lip with 3 ridges; pollinia 4
                 9 Plants never with leaves, holomycotrophic (without chlorophyll); veins of the petals and sepals strikingly different in color than the intervein areas; lip with 5-7 ridges; pollinia 8
1 Leaves present at flowering (Cleistesiopsis with a foliaceous bract at the summit of the stem).
                   10 Plants with evident, above-ground pseudobulbs, sometimes enclosed by sheaths.
                       12 Lip broadest near its base; inflorescence typically a spicate raceme (prematurely umbellate in M. spicata); leaves to 10 cm long
                       12 Lip broadest near its apex; inflorescence typically a more open or lax raceme; leaves to 30 cm long.
                     11 Leaf bases not conspicuously clasping the stems (or if clasping, loosely so).
                            14 Flowers predominantly yellow, pseudobulbs > 8 (-100) cm long.
                              15 Flowers without brown spots; pseudobulbs typically 10-30 (-100) cm long
                              15 Flowers with brown spots; pseudobulbs typically 8-15 cm long
                            14 Flowers not predominantly yellow, pseudobulbs < 8 cm long.
                                16 Leaves plicate, without conspicuous dark green mottling.
                                  17 Lip not conspicuously bearded, but sometimes with 3-7 distinct keels.
                                    18 Perianth primarily brown or green (white on the backs of the sepals and petals OR the lip greenish-white with brown lateral venation); lip tubular (Phaius) or not (Eulophia).
                                         20 Lip with 5-7 conspicuous yellow or white keels, the keels sometimes distally undulate.
                                           21 Inflorescence arising basally (directly from the pseudobulb and on separate stems from the leaf culms)
                   10 Plants without above-ground pseudobulbs (either absent or subterranean).
                                                    25 Leaf not long petiolate, orbicular; lateral sepals reflexed or slightly spreading without long acuminate apices, rather, typically blunt or rounded; [widespread; NC and TN northward]
                                                        27 Flowers relatively large, primarily pink, purple, or white; flowers arranged in loosely arranged racemes
                                                        27 Flowers relatively small, whitish; flowers arranged in densely (and sometimes also spirally) arranged spikes.
                                                              30 Flower solitary (-4), pink (rarely nearly white); [subfamily Vanilloideae; tribe Pogonieae].
                                                                                    40 Lip with a spur; leaves linear, lanceolate, or narrowly elliptic, 5-40 cm long (at least the larger > 5 cm long, except in Aspidogyne, with lanceolate to ovate leaves 1.5-6.5 cm long).