Key - FSUS

Colors

Account

No key was found for the requested taxon, but it is the only child of Asteraceae. Showing where it is keyed below.

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 G4: shrubs and subshrubs with alternate, simple, unlobed, entire leaves

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40718

1 Leaves evergreen. {add to 1a: Scaevola in GOODENIACEAE, Morella (inodora) in MYRICACEAE, Ternstroemia in PENTAPHYLACACEAE, Myrsine in PRIMULACEAE, Pyracantha in ROSACEAE, Dodonaea in SAPINDACEAE, Cestrum in SOLANACEAE, Thymelaea in THYMELAEACEAE, Conocarpus in COMBRETACEAE}
2 Leaves 1-7 mm long, either acicular and spreading or ovate and appressed to the stems Hudsonia
2 Leaves > 10 mm long.
3 Leaves linear, > 15× as long as wide; [Monocots] Yucca
3 Leaves broader, < 15× as long as wide; [Eudicots, Basal Angiosperms, or Monocots].
4 Plant a creeping subshrub, < 1 dm tall Epigaea repens
4 Plant not creeping, > 3 dm tall.
5 Inflorescence an involucrate head Asteraceae
5 Inflorescence solitary (Illicium in ILLICIACEAE) or variously branched, spicate, racemose, or fascicled, not an involucrate head.
6 Carpels separate; fruit an aggregate; fresh foliage strongly fragrant; [Basal Angiosperms]
7 Fruit an aggregate of woody follicles arranged in a whorl Illicium
7 Fruit an aggregate of red to blackish berries, 4-6 mm long, each on a long stipe, giving the aggregate almost the appearance of an umbel Polyalthia suberosa
6 Carpels fused; fruit a berry, drupe, acorn (nut), capsule, or legume; fresh foliage not strongly fragrant; [Eudicots, Monocots, and Basal Angiosperms].
8 Ovary with 3 carpels; fruit a berry; “leaves” actually cladodes; [Monocots] Danae racemosa
8 Ovary with 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 carpels; fruit a berry, drupe, capsule, legume, or nut; leaves actually leaves; [Eudicots and Basal Angiosperms].
9 Leaves largely covered with silver and/or bronze lepidote scales and/or dense stellate hairs below (visible at 10× or higher magnification), giving the lower leaf surface a slightly shiny to almost metallic appearance. {add Lyonia ferruginea and L. fruticosa in ERICACEAE; add Loropetalum in HAMAMELIDACEAE}
10 Petals present, conspicuous, connate, white, the corolla rotate; fruit a berry with several seeds; fresh foliage with a strong, tar-like odor Solanum
10 Petals absent or inconspicuous, greenish and separate if present (note that the calyx is petaloid and white or yellowish in Elaeagnus of ELAEAGNACEAE); fruit a dry capsule with 3 seeds, or a drupe with a single seed; fresh foliage lacking a strong odor.
11 Perianth 4-merous; petals absent; petaloid sepals white to cream, fused and salverform; carpel 1; fruit a fleshy, red drupe, with a single seed Elaeagnus
11 Perianth 5-merous; petals green and separate, or absent; sepals greenish, separate; carpels 3; fruit a 3-valved capsule with 3 seeds Croton
9 Leaves with various vestiture (or glabrous), but not as above.
12 Flowers in spikes, these solitary opposite leaves or in axillary umbels Piperaceae
12 Flowers in other types of inflorescences, not spikes.
13 Leaves 1-foliolate on the upper stems, sometimes 3-foliolate below, or all reduced to phyllodial spines; flowers papilionaceous, bright yellow; fruit a legume; stems bright green Fabaceae
13 Leaves simple throughout; flowers either small, inconspicuous, tannish, borne in catkins (Quercus), or larger and urceolate, or with almost separate and spreading petals, white to pink or reddish-orange, in various terminal or axillary, branched inflorescences; fruit either a nut in a cupule (an acorn), or a (3-) 5-valved capsule, or a spherical berry or drupe; stems generally brown or tan (sometimes green).
14 Flowers small, inconspicuous, tannish, borne in catkins; fruit a nut in a cupule (an acorn) Quercus
14 Flowers white to pink or reddish-orange, either urceolate or tubular or with separate and spreading petals, in various terminal or axillary inflorescences, or solitary; fruit either a (3-) 5-valved capsule, or a spherical berry with 10+ seeds, or a 1-8 seeded dry or fleshy drupe.
15 Flowers white to pink or reddish-orange, rotate or urceolate (the petals united at least basally), in various terminal or axillary inflorescences or solitary; fruit either a 2-5 valved capsule or a spherical berry with 10+ seeds.
16 Flowers reddish-orange; corollas bearing post-staminal hairs (appearing as tufts of hair opposite each anther) Schoepfia schreberi
16 Flowers white to pink; corollas without obvious tufts of hair opposite each anther.
17 Leaves 1 per node or also paired (on one side of the stem) at some nodes (the leaves then uneven in size); inflorescences leaf-opposed; fruit a berry. Solanum
17 Leaves 1 per node; inflorescences terminal or axillary, never leaf-opposed; fruit a valved capsule.
18 Seeds without fleshy aril or attachment; ovaries 5-10 carpellate; flowers urceolate; leaves serrate or entire Ericaceae
18 Seeds with fleshy aril or attachment; ovaries 2-4 carpellate; flowers rotate; leaves entire or very remotely serrulate.
19 Flowers few, not showy, green to greenish-white, inflorescence not densely arranged (flowers also sometimes solitary); capsules not beaked; leaves not revolute or undulate Tricerma
19 Flowers numerous, showy, white; inflorescence densely arranged; capsules with short beak; leaf margins revolute or slightly undulate Pittosporaceae
15 Flowers white, petals spreading, separate even at the base, in axillary fascicles or racemes; fruit either a fleshy drupe with 4-8 pyrenes, or a dry single-seeded drupe.
20 Shrub rhizomatous and colonial; fruit an ellipsoid drupe, 2-3 cm long Chrysobalanaceae
20 Shrub not rhizomatous; fruit either a fleshy or dry drupe, < 1 cm long.
21 Inflorescence an axillary fascicle or cluster; fruit a fleshy drupe with 4-8 pyrenes Ilex
21 Inflorescence an axillary raceme; fruit a dry drupe with 1 seed Cyrillaceae
1 Leaves deciduous. {add: Ditrysinia in EUPHORBIACEAE, Glochidion in PHYLLANTHACEAE, Phyllanthopsis in PHYLLANTHACEAE, Nierembergia in SOLANACEAE, Edgeworthia in THYMELAEACEAE, Ipomoea (I. carnea) in CONVOLVULACEAE; Swida (S. alternifolia) in CORNACEAE}
22 Inflorescence an involucrate head Asteraceae
22 Inflorescence branched, spicate, a catkin, or consisting of a solitary flower or axillary clusters or whorls, not an involucrate head.
23 Inflorescence a catkin; flowers unisexual; plants dioecious
24 Leaves 3.5-6 cm wide Leitneria
24 Leaves < 3 cm wide Salix
23 Inflorescence various, not a catkin; flowers bisexual; plants hermaphroditic.
25 Inflorescences axillary, solitary flowers
Show caption*© Michelle Wong, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Michelle W. 26 Fruit a globose, spinose capsule bearing a longitudinal ridge across 1 or both faces, thus essentially resembling a spikey ball; perianth (4-)5-merous, consisting of 3 upper connate petaloid claws and two lower sessile petals; fresh plants without a strange musky odor; [Eudicots] Krameria ramosissima
26 Fruit an oblong berry, greenish-yellow when ripe, not bearing small spines; perianth 3-4-merous, without connate petaloid claws; fresh plants fragrant with a strange, musky odor; [Basal Angiosperms] Annonaceae
25 Inflorescence of 2 or more flowers; perianth 3-5-merous; fresh plants not musky-fragrant; fruits various, not as above.
27 Flowers 3-merous; fruit fleshy, red or greenish-yellow at maturity; ovary superior; [Basal Angiosperms or Eudicots].
28 Leaves elliptic or narrowly elliptic, broadest near the middle; fresh plants strongly fragrant with a citrus-like aroma; stems unarmed; fruit a drupe, with a single seed Lauraceae
28 Leaves obovate or oblanceolate, broadest near the apex; stems armed with nodal spines; fresh plants not fragrant; fruit a berry, with several seeds. Berberis
27 Flowers 4-5-merous; fruit fleshy or dry, black, blue, brown, tan, or red at maturity; ovary superior or inferior; [Eudicots].
29 Fruit a 4-5-valved capsule with many seeds; inflorescence either terminal, a corymb or panicle, or an axillary whorl Ericaceae
29 Fruit either a drupe or berry (indehiscent, and variously fleshy or dry) or a dry 3-valved capsule with 1 seed; inflorescence axillary (solitary, clusters, fascicles, or racemes), or in a terminal raceme (Pyrularia in SANTALACEAE).
30 Leaves largely covered with silver and/or bronze shiny lepidote scales below, giving the lower leaf surface an almost metallic appearance Elaeagnus
30 Leaves with various vestiture, but not as above.
31 Ovary inferior or half-inferior; inflorescence an axillary cluster or raceme, or a terminal raceme.
32 Fruit a spherical berry, with 10 or more seeds Ericaceae
32 Fruit an elongate drupe (definitely longer than thick), with 1 seed.
33 Fruit 15-30 mm long; inflorescence a terminal raceme Pyrularia pubera
33 Fruit 6-10 mm long; inflorescence an axillary fascicle Symplocos
31 Ovary superior; inflorescence an axillary cluster or an axillary raceme (borne themselves in clusters).
34 Fruits elongate, 8-20 mm long.
35 Fruit a red or orange berry, 8-20 mm long; leaves usually on spur-shoots; [salty coastal areas, or exotics of disturbed situations] Lycium
35 Fruit a yellowish-green drupe, 12-15 mm long; leaves on main stems; [rich forests, mainly inland] Dirca
34 Fruits spherical, < 10 mm long.
36 Inflorescence a narrowly cylindrical raceme, clustered several to many at the tip of the previous year’s wood and below the current season’s growth; fruit < 3 mm in diameter Cyrilla
36 Inflorescence an axillary cluster; fruit > 4 mm in diameter
37 Fruit dry, opening by 3 valves, 1-seeded; leaf pubescence stellate Styrax
37 Fruit fleshy, with 4-8 seeds; leaf pubescence simple or absent.
38 Fruit yellow to red, the pedicel 10-30 mm long; leaf venation pinnate, but irregular and reticulated Ilex mucronata
38 Fruit dark red to black, the pedicel < 10 mm long; leaf venation very neatly pinnate, with the secondary veins nearly straight and parallel to one another Rhamnaceae

Key G5: shrubs and subshrubs with alternate, simple, unlobed, toothed leaves

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40719

1 Subshrubs or dwarf shrubs, aboveground stems creeping or erect, < 15 cm tall; leaves evergreen.
2 Leaves 1.5-3 cm wide, coarsely toothed; flowers lacking sepals and petals; [exotic species, sparingly naturalized or spreading in suburban situations] Pachysandra
2 Leaves < 1.5 cm wide, finely toothed or entire; flowers with sepals and petals; [native species, collectively widespread and common].
3 Leaves fleshy, terete in ×-section; petals 5, bright pink Talinum
3 Leaves flat, not fleshy; petals white or pale pink.
4 Leaves < 2.5 mm wide; corolla with petals distinct; plant creeping Pyxidanthera
4 Leaves > 5 mm wide; corolla with petals fused (distinct in Chimaphila); plant creeping or erect Ericaceae
1 Shrubs, aboveground stems erect, > 30 cm tall; leaves evergreen or deciduous.
5 Inflorescence an involucrate (composite) 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 Asteraceae
5 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above.
6 Leaves evergreen. {add to 6a Ardisia in PRIMULACEAE, Rhaphiolepis in ROSACEAE, Camellia in THEACEAE}
7 Leaves glandular-punctate on one or both surfaces with golden-yellow glands; flowers unisexual, lacking a perianth; fruit a pale gray, waxy drupe with a single seed Morella
7 Leaves not glandular punctate; flowers bisexual or unisexual, with a white, pink, or yellow perianth; fruit various, a red, blue, or black drupe or berry with several seeds, or a capsule.
8 Petals connate and urceolate, white to pale pink; flowers bisexual; leaves ovate, lanceolate, or elliptic, broadest near the middle or towards the base, the teeth well-distributed along most of the margin on either side; fruit either a capsule or a red, blue, or black berry Ericaceae
8 Petals distinct, yellow or white; flowers unisexual or bisexual; leaves oblanceolate or elliptic, broadest towards the tip or near the middle, the teeth usually concentrated in the upper half of the leaf; fruit either a black or red drupe with several pyrenes, a red berry with several seeds, or red or black pomes.
9 Plants with nodal, simple or tripartite thorns; flowers bisexual, with a yellow perianth; fruit a red berry with several seeds Berberis
9 Plants lacking thorns; flowers unisexual or bisexual, with a white perianth; fruit either a black or red drupe with several pyrenes or a red or black pome.
10 Flowers unisexual; fruit a black or red drupe with several pyrenes Ilex
10 Flowers bisexual; fruit a red or black pome Photinia
6 Leaves deciduous {add [Fagaceae]}.
11 Plants with nodal, simple or tripartite thorns; leaf teeth spinulose Berberis
11 Plants lacking thorns; leaf teeth acute, blunt, rounded, or callus-tipped, but not spinulose.
12 Leaves crenate-wavy, with 1-2 teeth per cm of leaf margin; leaves usually obliquely cordate or angled-truncate at the base; pubescence of leaves and stems stellate Hamamelidaceae
12 Leaves crenulate, serrate or serrulate, with >2 teeth per cm of leaf margin; leaves cuneate, rounded, or subcordate at base, not oblique; pubescence of leaves and stems absent or simple.
13 Leaves prominently 3-veined from the base.
14 Ovary 5-locular; stamens many or 5, fused or separate; fruit a 5-valved capsule or of 5 mericarps; flowers yellow or pink, or white with a pink blaze Malvaceae
14 Ovary 3-locular; stamens 5, separate; fruit a 3-valved capsule or drupe; flowers white or pale green Rhamnaceae
13 Leaves pinnately veined.
15 Flowers in catkins; perianth absent or very small; fruit a 1-seeded nut, samara, or waxy drupe (capsule in Salix in SALICACEAE).
16 Leaves > 4 cm wide, lacking punctate glands; fruit a 1-seeded nut or samara Betulaceae
16 Leaves < 3 cm wide, either punctate-glandular on one or both surfaces or lacking punctate glands; fruit a 1-seeded waxy drupe or a capsule.
17 Leaves punctate-glandular on one or both surfaces; fruit a 1-seeded waxy drupe. Myricaceae
17 Leaves lacking punctate glands; fruit a capsule. Salix
15 Flowers arrayed variously, but not in catkins; perianth present, conspicuous; fruit a 1-many-seeded capsule, pome, berry, or follicle.
18 Ovary inferior; fruit fleshy and indehiscent, a berry or pome.
19 Fruit a berry; leaves lacking stipules Vaccinium
19 Fruit a pome; leaves usually prominently stipular Rosaceae
18 Ovary superior; fruit either dry and dehiscent, a capsule or an aggregate of follicles or achenes, or fleshy and indehiscent, a drupe with 4-8 pyrenes.
20 Flower apocarpous; fruit an aggregate of follicles or achenes Rosaceae
20 Flower syncarpous; fruit either a capsule or a fleshy drupe.
21 Ovary 1-carpellate; fruit a 1-seeded drupe Prunus
21 Ovary 2-8-carpellate; fruit either a capsule or a drupe with 4-8 pyrenes
22 Ovary 2-8-locular; fruit fleshy and indehiscent, a drupe with 2-8 pyrenes; flowers mostly functionally unisexual (or sometimes bisexual in RHAMNACEAE).
23 Petals connate at the base; stamens alternate to the petals and opposite to the sepals; fruit 4-8-locular, with 4-8 pyrenes Ilex
23 Petals separate (or absent in Rhamnus alnifolia); stamens opposite to the petals (when present) and alternate to the sepals; fruit 2-4-locular, with 2-4 pyrenes Rhamnaceae
22 Ovary 2-3- or 5-locular; fruit dry and dehiscent, a capsule; flowers bisexual (except Stillingia in EUPHORBIACEAE).
24 Ovary and capsule 5-locular; stamens 10-many.
25 Stamens 10; corolla urceolate, sympetalous Ericaceae
25 Stamens many; corolla spreading, apopetalous Stewartia
24 Ovary and capsule 2-3-locular; stamens 2, 5, or 10.
26 Leaves > 5× as long as wide; stamens 2; ovary and capsule 3-locular; [plants of the Coastal Plain of SC, GA, AL, and FL] Stillingia
26 Leaves < 3× as long as wide; stamens 5 or 10; ovary and capsule 2-3-locular; [plants collectively widespread].
27 Stamens 5; ovary and capsule 2-locular; leaves elliptic (widest near the middle), the teeth fine (usually > 5 points per cm of margin), and along much of the margin; inflorescence a terminal raceme; hairs of the lower leaf surface simple, erect Itea virginica
27 Stamens 10; ovary and capsule 3-locular; leaves obovate (widest towards the apex), the teeth obscure to coarse (usually < 4 points per cm of margin), and primarily in the upper half of the leaf; inflorescence a terminal or axillary raceme or cyme; hairs of the lower leaf surface either simple and appressed, or stellate.
28 Leaf margins regularly and evenly serrate in the upper half of the leaf (usually nearly entire towards the base); inflorescence an elongate, many flowered (>30) raceme borne at the end of branchlets of the season; corolla of separate petals, the stamens separate; hairs of the lower leaf surface simple and appressed Clethra
28 Leaf margins wavy or irregularly dentate, mainly in the upper half of the leaf; inflorescence a few flowered (<20) axillary raceme, cyme, or cluster; corolla fused basally into a tube, the stamens adnate to the tube; hairs of the lower leaf surface stellate Styrax

Key J4: shrubs and subshrubs with opposite simple leaves with entire margins

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40728

1 Aerial and epiphytic, hemiparasitic shrub Phoradendron
1 Terrestrial, autotrophic or hemiparasitic shrub or subshrub.
2 Leaves succulent, nearly as thick as wide; [brackish to saline situations] Batis maritima
2 Leaves herbaceous (succulent in Borrichia), much wider than thick; [various habitats].
3 Creeping or short subshrubs, the stems primarily prostrate, < 2 dm tall.
4 Well-developed leaves 4-6 per stem; inflorescence a head subtended by 4 large white bracts Chamaepericlymenum canadense
4 Well-developed leaves many per stem; inflorescence of individual flowers axillary in pairs or clusters or in terminal cymes.
5 Flowers yellow; leaves with pellucid or dark punctate glands (use at least 10× magnification) Hypericum
5 Flowers white, pale pink, or deep pink; leaves lacking sessile, punctate glands.
6 Leaves linear; flowers pale to deep pink, 5-merous Phlox
6 Leaves orbicular or elliptic; flowers white to pale pink, 4-merous or 5-merous
7 Leaves elliptic; flowers 5-merous; fruit a brownish capsule Kalmia buxifolia
7 Leaves orbicular; flowers 4-merous; fruit a red berry Mitchella repens
3 Upright or scrambling shrubs, > 3 dm tall
8 Scrambling shrubs, armed with recurved paired spines at the nodes Pisonia
8 Upright shrubs, unarmed.
9 Inflorescence a terminal head of many flowers.
10 Head spherical, lacking an involucre of conspicuous bracts or phyllaries Cephalanthus
10 Head flattened, either subtended by 4 large white bracts or by an involucre with >5 green phyllaries.
11 Head subtended by 4 large white bracts; leaves with prominently parallel-arcing secondary veins; flowers 4-merous Cornaceae
11 Head subtended by an involucre of >5 green phyllaries; leaves with venation otherwise; flowers 5-merous Asteraceae
9 Inflorescence otherwise, either of a solitary flower, or one of a wide variety of inflorescences with flowers attached at different points along branched or unbranched axes (e.g. axillary). {add: [Lagerstroemia] LYTHRACEAE; [Rosmarinus] LAMIACEAE; [Laguncularia] COMBRETACEAE; [Buxus] BUXACEAE; [Exochorda] ROSACEAE; various other [see spreadsheet]}
12 Inflorescence flat-topped (broader than long), terminal, a compound cyme or corymb.
13 Flowers bright yellow; stamens many; leaves < 1.5 cm wide; fruit a capsule; leaves with pellucid or dark punctate glands (use at least 10× magnification) Hypericum
13 Flowers white or creamy; stamens 4-5; leaves > 1.5 cm wide; fruit a drupe; leaves lacking sessile, punctate glands.
14 Petals 5; foliage with simple hairs Viburnum
14 Petals 4; foliage with T-shaped hairs Cornus
12 Inflorescence either terminal and not flat-topped (longer than wide), or axillary and variously shaped, or terminal and solitary, or leaf-opposed.
15 Carpels many (> 9), either separate or fused; stamens many; perianth segments either many and undifferentiated into calyx and corolla, maroon, brown, or yellow (in CALYCANTHACEAE), or differentiated into a fleshy and persistent calyx of 5-9 sepals, and a deciduous corolla of 5-9 red (or white) petals (Punica in LYTHRACEAE).
16 Fruit a wrinkled, 3-7 cm long, brown to black, elliptical aggregate of nearly spherical, large achenes; flowers solitary in axils; perianth segments many and undifferentiated into calyx and corolla, maroon, brown, or yellowish; ovary superior; branches unarmed Calycanthaceae
16 Fruit a leathery, 4-15 cm in diameter, reddish, spherical berry with obpyramidal seeds surrounded by a juicy sarcotesta (pomegranate); perianth differentiated, the sepals fleshy and persistent on the fruit, the petals deciduous, 5-9, bright red to white; ovary inferior; branches typically armed with axillary spines Punica granatum
15 Carpels 1-5, fused; stamens either 1-5 or 8-10; perianth segments 4-5 or 8, variously colored; fruit a simple capsule, drupe, or berry (including berry-like fruit); flowers 2-many, in axillary or terminal inflorescences (pistillate flowers sometimes solitary in SANTALACEAE and THESIACEAE); [Eudicots].
17 Ovary inferior; corolla absent, radially symmetrical, or bilaterally symmetrical; fruit either a berry or a 1-seeded drupe.
18 Flowers unisexual and plants dioecious; corolla absent; pistillate flowers solitary, staminate flowers in pedunculate umbels or cymes, either terminal or axillary; fruit a 1-seeded drupe; leaves acute to acuminate at the apex
19 Inflorescences terminal Buckleya distichophylla
19 Inflorescences axillary Nestronia umbellula
18 Flowers bisexual and plants hermaphroditic; corolla present; flowers paired, terminal or axillary, or in axillary spikes; fruit a berry; leaves rounded, obtuse, to acute (or acuminate in Lonicera maackii) at the apex Caprifoliaceae
17 Ovary superior; corolla radially symmetrical (absent in Forestiera in OLEACEAE); fruit either a 1-4-seeded drupe, or a many-seeded berry (or berry-like fruit), or a capsule.
20 Leaves with a conspicuous mix of silvery stellate hairs (upper) and rusty colored scales (lower); ovaries bearing rusty colored scales; flowers small, yellowish and inconspicuous; [nw. PA northward] Shepherdia canadensis
20 Leaves glabrous or nearly so, lacking a conspicuous mix of stellate hairs adaxially and rusty scales abaxially; ovaries not bearing rusty colored scales; flowers of various size and color.
21 Stamens 8-10, of 2 different lengths in each flower; petals separate, 4-5 (-7), pink purple, 10-15 mm long; stems strongly arching, rooting at the tips; [plants of flooded to saturated wetlands] Decodon verticillatus
21 Stamens either (1-) 2 (-4), or 4-5, or 10, all of the same length; petals fused (separate in RHAMNACEAE and BUXACEAE, but then < 5 mm long and white or cream), white, bright-yellow, lilac, or pink; stems erect (or at least not arching and rooting at the tips); [plants of various habitats].
22 Petals separate, 4-5, white or cream; stamens 4-5.
23 Fruit a loculicidal capsule, dehiscing into 3 valves; branches square in ×-section; leaves < 2 cm long; [exotic, cultivated and weakly established, of temperate areas] Buxus sempervirens
23 Fruit a drupe with 2-4 pyrenes; branches round or nearly so in ×-section; leaves > 2 cm long; [natives, of peninsular FL] Rhamnaceae
22 Petals fused, 4-5, white, bright yellow, lilac, or pink; stamens either (1-) 2 (-4) or 10; fruit either a capsule or a 1-seeded drupe.
24 Perianth 5-merous; corolla pink; stamens 10; fruit a 5-locular capsule Ericaceae
24 Perianth 4-merous; corolla white, bright yellow, or lilac; stamens (1-) 2 (-4); fruit either a 1-seeded drupe or a 2-locular capsule Oleaceae

Key N1: herbaceous dicots with mainly basal, compound leaves

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40736

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 Jeffersonia diphylla
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 Asteraceae
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 Apiaceae
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}] Arisaema
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] Fabaceae
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] Menyanthes trifoliata
8 Leaflets notched at the tip; flowers pink, white, or yellow; [plants of uplands or temporarily flooded wetlands] Key to Oxalis
5 Leaflets serrate, serrulate, or cleft.
9 Petals 4; stamens 6; fruit a silique Cardamine
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) Callirhoe
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 Fabaceae
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 Ranunculaceae
12 Fruit an aggregate of achenes (borne on a fleshy, expanded receptacle in Fragaria and some Potentilla)
13 Flowers lacking a hypanthium Ranunculus
13 Flowers with a hypanthium Rosaceae
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 Asteraceae
15 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above.
16 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical; fruit a legume Fabaceae
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 Brassicaceae
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 Apiaceae
18 Stamens 2, 4, or many; fruit an achene Rosaceae
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 Asteraceae
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 Apiaceae
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 Fumariaceae
22 Carpels 5-10 or many, separate; fruit an aggregate; flower radially symmetrical Ranunculaceae
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.
24 Fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps Apiaceae
24 Fruit a 5-seeded drupe Aralia
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] Lamprocapnos spectabilis
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 Caulophyllum
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 Ranunculaceae
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 Astilbe
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 Actaea
29 Flowers unisexual (plants dioecious); carpels 3-4 per pistillate flower; inflorescence a panicle of racemes, with numerous branches; fruit an aggregate of follicles Aruncus

Key N2: herbaceous dicots with mainly basal, simple leaves

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40737

1 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 Asteraceae
1 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head subtended by bracts, e.g. Eryngium in APIACEAE, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or petals separate, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
2 Basal leaves 2-lobed, pinnately lobed, or palmately lobed (not considering cordate, hastate, or auriculate leaf bases as “lobed”).
3 Basal leaves 2-lobed, hinged between the lobes, each lobe with stiff, marginal, eyelash-like bristles; [Coastal Plain of NC and SC, rarely planted and weakly naturalized elsewhere] Dionaea muscipula
3 Basal leaves 3-many-lobed, palmately or pinnately; [collectively widespread].
4 Leaf lobing pinnate.
5 Gynoecium of separate pistils (each with a single carpel); fruit an aggregate Geum
5 Gynoecium of a single pistil (with 2, rarely more, carpels); fruit simple.
6 Stamens many; sepals 2, petals 4; fresh plants with yellow, orange, or white milky juice Papaveraceae
6 Stamens 4, 5, or 6; sepals 4 or 5; petals 4 or 5.
7 Petals 4, distinct; stamens 6 Brassicaceae
7 Petals 5, fused; stamens 2, 4, or 5.
8 Corolla radially symmetrical; stamens 5 Boraginaceae
8 Corolla 2-lipped, bilaterally symmetrical or asymmetrical; stamens 2 or 4.
9 Corolla lobes not twisted, the flower bilaterally symmetrical; stamens 2 Salvia
9 Corolla lobes twisted so as to make the flower asymmetrical; stamens 4 Pedicularis
4 Leaf lobing palmate.
10 Petiole attachment peltate.
11 Leaves < 10 cm in diameter Hydrocotyle
11 Leaves > 15 cm in diameter Berberidaceae
10 Petiole attachment marginal.
12 Ovary inferior.
13 Petals 4; stamens 8; fruit a capsule Oenothera
13 Petals 5; stamens 5; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps.
14 Fruit tuberculate; leaves 3-lobed Eryngium prostratum
14 Fruit smooth; leaves with 5 or more lobes Hydrocotyle
12 Ovary superior, or half-inferior by fusion of a hypanthium a part of the way up the ovary wall.
15 Gynoecium of separate pistils (each with a single carpel); fruit an aggregate.
16 Perianth of 5 green sepals and 5 colored petals.
17 Carpels partly fused, arrayed in a ring of 10-20 Malvaceae
17 Carpels separate, spiral, many Ranunculaceae
16 Perianth of a single whorl of 3-12 petaloid sepals (the petals absent or small and rudimentary).
18 Leaves 2, the single flower terminal and associated with the upper leaf; fruit an aggregate of berries Hydrastis canadensis
18 Leaves normally > 2, flowers not as above; fruit an aggregate of achenes, utricles, or follicles Ranunculaceae
15 Gynoecium of a single pistil (with 1-5 carpels); fruit simple.
19 Hypanthium present, partially fused or not fused to the pistil; ovary partially inferior to superior Saxifragaceae
19 Hypanthium absent; ovary superior.
20 Petals connate at base; leaves sharply toothed Hydrophyllum
20 Petals distinct; leaves with rounded lobes or teeth.
21 Corolla radially symmetrical; petals 8-12; capsule fusiform, narrowed to both ends, > 5× as long as wide Sanguinaria canadensis
21 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical; petals 5; capsule ovoid, < 2× as long as wide Viola
2 Basal leaves not lobed, at most serrate or crenate (and sometimes also cordate, hastate, auriculate, or peltate at the base).
22 Basal leaves petiolate, the blade with a cordate, hastate, auriculate, or peltate base.
23 Leaf margins entire.
24 Inflorescence a terminal and/or axillary raceme, panicle, or cyme of many small flowers; fruit an achene; perianth uniseriate, of 0, 4-5, or 6 tepals.
25 Flowers unisexual; staminate flowers 4-5 tepals, pistillate flowers lacking a perianth Spinacia oleracea
25 Flowers bisexual; flowers with 6 tepals Polygonaceae
24 Inflorescence either a terminal spike, or a 1-7-flowered terminal cyme, or of a solitary axillary or terminal flower; fruit various; perianth biseriate (of differentiated sepals and petals (except uniseriate, of 3 fused sepals in ARISTOLOCHIACEAE).
26 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical; inflorescence a terminal spike (with > 20 flowers); petals 4, usually scarious, transparent; sepals 4, green; stamens 4 Plantago
26 Flowers radially symmetrical; inflorescence either of a solitary flower or of a 1-7-flowered terminal cyme; petals 5, 8-12, or 0; sepals 5 (green), 3 (brown), or 5-9 (yellow); stamens 5, 12, or many.
27 Gynoecium of separate pistils (each with a single carpel); fruit an aggregate of achenes or follicles; flowers bright yellow, either of 5-9 distinct petaloid sepals, or of 8-12 distinct petals subtended by 3-4 green distinct sepals Ranunculaceae
27 Gynoecium either of a single pistil with 6 carpels or of a single pistil with 4 carpels or of 2 nearly separate carpels; fruit a simple capsule (or deeply 2-lobed); flowers white, brown, or greenish, either of 5 fused or distinct white petals and 5 fused or distinct green sepals, or of 3 fused brown or greenish petaloid sepals.
28 Flowers brown or green, of 3 fused brown or greenish petaloid sepals (and 0 petals); carpels 6; stamens 12; leaves 4-10 cm wide Aristolochiaceae
28 Flowers white, of 5 white or whitish petals and 5 green sepals; carpels 2; stamens 5; leaves 1-12 (-15) cm wide
29 Petals separate; sepals separate; plant glabrous Parnassia
29 Petals fused; sepals fused; carpels 2; plant pubescent.
30 {XXXX}; [common, widespread in our area] Dichondra
30 {YYYY}; [rare exotic] Lycianthes asarifolia
23 Leaf margins crenate, serrate, or incised.
31 Gynoecium of separate pistils (each with a single carpel); fruit an aggregate; perianth of 5 green sepals and 5 colored petals.
32 Carpels 10-20, partly fused, arrayed in a ring; petals white, pink, red, or purplish Malvaceae
32 Carpels many, separate, spiral; petals yellow or white.
33 Flowers lacking a hypanthium; fruit an aggregate of achenes or aggregate of follicles Ranunculaceae
33 Flowers with a hypanthium; fruit an aggregate of drupelets or aggregate of achenes Rosaceae
31 Gynoecium of a single pistil (with 1-5 carpels); fruit simple.
34 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical; inflorescence of a solitary flower; fruit a 3-locular capsule Viola
34 Flowers radially symmetrical; inflorescence an umbel (or composite of umbelliform units, or a terminal panicle.
35 Ovary superior; inflorescence a terminal panicle or terminal raceme.
36 Inflorescence a terminal raceme; perianth of 4 green sepals and 4 white petals; fruit a silique/silicle; fresh foliage in spring and summer with a strong garlic odor; larger leaves < 10 cm in diameter Brassicaceae
36 Inflorescence a terminal panicle; perianth of 6 cream-colored petaloid sepals; fruit a winged achene; fresh foliage lacking a garlic odor; larger leaves typically > 30 cm in diameter Rheum
35 Ovary inferior; inflorescence an umbel (or a composite of umbellate units); fruit a schizocarp of mericarps.
37 Petiole attachment peltate Hydrocotyle
37 Petiole attachment marginal (the blade cleft to the petiole.
38 Leaf blades longer than wide, sharply V-cleft at the base and otherwise shallowly denticulate Centella
38 Leaf blades as broad or broader than long, cleft at the base and also irregularly serrate or crenate around the margin Hydrocotyle
22 Basal leaves petiolate or not, with a truncate, rounded, or cuneate leaf base.
39 Leaves tubular, with a sutured ventral flange, erect or reclining, adapted as a pitfall for insects (flat, phyllodial leaves sometimes present as well, common in the winter in some species, such as S. oreophila) Sarracenia
39 Leaves flat, not sutured into a tubular shape.
40 Stem leaves opposite; perianth 5-merous, at least the corolla bilaterally symmetrical (barely so in VALERIANACEAE), or the parts curved so as to be asymmetrical (Pedicularis in OROBANCHACEAE); stamens 2, 3, or 4.
41 Ovary inferior; stamens 3 Valerianaceae
41 Ovary superior; stamens 2 or 4.
42 Corolla narrowly tubular, the five lobes flaring at nearly 90 degrees and nearly radially symmetrical Buchnera
42 Corolla distinctly 2-lipped (with prominently large upper and lower corolla lobes) or hooded (the upper lip hood-like), distinctly bilaterally symmetrical, or the lobes twisted so as to make the corolla asymmetrical.
43 Corolla yellow, the upper lip often slightly to strongly maroon, hooded but the corolla lobes twisted so as to make the flower asymmetrical Pedicularis
43 Corolla white, lavender, or blue, 2-lipped and bilaterally symmetrical.
44 Sepals separate to the base or nearly so, not forming a tube Lindernia
44 Sepals connate for at least 0.3× their length to form a tube Mazus
40 Stem leaves alternate; perianth radially symmetrical (less commonly bilaterally symmetrical); stamens 5, 6-8, 9, 10 (rarely 4).
45 Ovary inferior (or half-inferior in Samolus).
46 Perianth 4-merous; stamens 8 Oenothera
46 Perianth 5-merous; stamens 5.
47 Inflorescence an umbel; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps Apiaceae
47 Inflorescence an axillary or terminal raceme; fruit a capsule Samolus
45 Ovary superior.
48 Pistils many, each with a single carpel; fruit an aggregate of achenes Myosurus
48 Pistil 1, with 1-5 carpels; fruit simple (a legume, silique/silicle, capsule, utricle, or schizocarp of 4 nutlets).
49 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical (barely so in Limosella in SCROPHULARIACEAE); stamens 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10.
50 Stamens 6-8 or 10.
51 Petals separate; stamens 10 Micranthes
51 Petals fused; stamens 10 or 6-8.
52 Stamens 10, monadelphous Fabaceae
52 Stamens 6-8, epipetalous Polygalaceae
50 Stamens 2 or 4.
53 Stamens 2 Lentibulariaceae
53 Stamens 4.
54 [plants of coastal wetlands] Limosella
54 [plants of uplands or inland seeps or fens]
55 Flowers (and subtending bracts) red or yellow Castilleja
55 Flowers purple, blue, or lavender Mazus
49 Corolla radially symmetrical; stamens 5, 10, 4-6, or 9.
56 Perianth of 6 tepals; stamens 4-6 or 9; carpels 3 Polygonaceae
56 Perianth of green sepals and more brightly colored petals; stamens 5 or 10; carpels 2, 3, 4, or 5.
57 Leaves covered with sticky, gland-tipped hairs (often red), as flypaper traps for insects Drosera
57 Leaves lacking sticky gland-tipped hairs.
58 Fruit a schizocarp of 4 nutlets (ovary obviously 4-lobed in flower) Boraginaceae
58 Fruit a capsule or silique/silicle (or utricle in Limonium in PLUMBAGINACEAE).
59 Inflorescence of a solitary, terminal flower; carpels 2-3 (-4).
60 Corolla with a long tube and flaring corolla lobes (united > ½ its length) Jaborosa integrifolia
60 Corolla of separate petals or united only for a short length (< ¼ its length).
61 Leaves serrate Shortia
61 Leaves entire Parnassiaceae
59 Inflorescence of several to many flowers; carpels 5 (3 in Galax in DIAPENSIACEAE).
62 Inflorescence an umbel; petals recurved, pink to almost white Primula
62 Inflorescence a raceme or panicle.
63 Fruit a silique/silicle; petals 4; stamens 6 Brassicaceae
63 Fruit either a capsule or a utricle; petals 5; stamens 5 or 10.
64 Inflorescence a somewhat to very diffuse panicle, with 3 or more orders of branching, not giving at all the impression that the overall inflorescence is made of racemose units.
Show caption*© Scott Ward 65 Leaves entire; stamens 5; [plants of tidal marshes] Limonium
65 Leaves serrate or crenate; stamens 10; [plants of various habitats, especially rock outcrops and bottomland forests and streambanks, never in tidal marshes] Micranthes
64 Inflorescence either a single terminal raceme (sometimes spike-like), or of 1 to several terminal and axillary racemes (these sometimes combined into a diffuse panicle, but one whose structure is clearly made up of many racemes).
66 Inflorescence of 1-several terminal and axillary racemes, the plant typically well-branched, especially from the base; stamens 5 Samolus
66 Inflorescence of a single, terminal raceme, the plant unbranched; stamens 10 (or 5, with 5 staminodes)
67 Inflorescence spike-like, the flowers many (> 40), barely pedicelled; capsule 3-locular Galax urceolata
67 Inflorescence a raceme, the flowers fewer (< 20) and distinctly pedicelled; capsule 5-locular Ericaceae

Key O: herbaceous dicots with alternate, compound leaves on the stem

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40738

1 Leaves either 3-foliolate or palmately 4-11-foliolate (all the leaflets attached at a common point, or the leaflets slightly pedate in Helleborus foetidus in RANUNCULACEAE).
2 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 Nabalus
2 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above. {add under 2b [Cynosciadium] APIACEAE}
3 Leaflets obviously and sharply serrate; pistils 1 or 5-many; fruit an achene, or an aggregate of achenes, drupelets, or follicles.
4 Leaflets 7-11, slightly pedate in their arrangement, evergreen Helleborus foetidus
4 Leaflets 3-9, palmate, deciduous
5 Pistil 1; fruit an achene Cannabis sativa
5 Pistils 5-many; fruit an aggregate of achenes, drupelets, or follicles Rosaceae
3 Leaflets entire, finely denticulate, or very obscurely toothed (or irregularly serrate or lobed in Cardamine in BRASSICACEAE); pistil 1; fruit simple, a legume, capsule, silique, or berry.
6 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical; petals 5; fruit a legume; carpel 1 Fabaceae
6 Corolla radially symmetrical; petals 4 or 5; fruit either an elongate capsule or a berry; carpels 1, 2, or 5.
7 Leaflets radially arranged at the summit of the petiole, not differentiated in size or placement into a terminal leaflet and 2 lateral leaflets; leaflets prominently notched at the apex; petals 5, yellow; inflorescence axillary, cymose or umbelliform; carpels 5 Oxalis
7 Leaflets differentiated in size and placement into a terminal leaflet and 2 or more lateral leaflets; leaflets not regularly notched at the apex (a few may be slightly retuse); petals 4, white, pink, or yellow; inflorescence terminal and racemose; carpels 1 or 2.
8 Carpels 2; fruit a red berry; petals connate, purplish-blue Solanum dulcamara
8 Carpel 1; fruit a capsule; petals separate, white, pink, or yellow.
9 Stem leaves 1-3, alternate [or whorled or opposite]; leaflets 3, irregularly serrate, lacerate, or additionally divided or lobed; fruit a silique; carpels 2 Cardamine
9 Stem leaves >3, alternate; leaflets (1-) 3-7, each entire or obscurely toothed; fruit a capsule; carpel 1 Cleomaceae
1 Leaves either 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).
10 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, heads solitary or many, variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences; fruit a cypsela; ovary inferior Asteraceae
10 Inflorescence various, but not as above; fruit various, not as above; ovary superior.
11 Leaves 1-pinnately compound (all leaflets attached to a central rachis).
12 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical, papilionaceous; fruit a legume; leaves even-pinnately or odd-pinnately compound, the terminal leaflet sometimes replaced by a tendril; leaflets entire or at most minutely denticulate Fabaceae
12 Flowers radially symmetrical (or barely bilaterally symmetrical in Erodium in GERANIACEAE); fruit a capsule, capsular but of 5 mericarps, or an aggregate of achenes, nutlets, or follicles (in some cases the # of pistils from many down to 2 or even 1); leaves odd-pinnately compound, never with tendrils; leaflets serrate (or entire to shallowly lobed in Polemonium in POLEMONIACEAE, Cardamine in BRASSICACEAE, and Floerkea in LIMNANTHACEAE).
13 Pistils many (only 1-2 in Agrimonia, Poteridium, Poterium, and Sanguisorba); fruit an aggregate of achenes, nutlets, or follicles; hypanthium present; stamens 5-many (only 4 in Poteridium and Sanguisorba) Rosaceae
13 Pistil 1 (or deeply 2-3-lobed in Floerkea in LIMNANTHACEAE); fruit a silique, capsule, schizocarp of 2-3 mericarps, or a capsular schizocarp of 5 mericarps (Erodium in GERANIACEAE); hypanthium absent; stamens 3-6.
14 Petals 3 Floerkea proserpinacoides
14 Petals 4-5.
15 Petals 4, distinct; stamens 6; inflorescence a terminal raceme; fruit a silique/silicle Brassicaceae
15 Petals 5, fused (distinct in Erodium in GERANIACEAE); stamens 5; inflorescence axillary or terminal, cymose, consisting of subcapitate, umbel-like, or helicoid cymes; fruit either a capsule, or a capsular schizocarp of 5 mericarps (Erodium in GERANIACEAE).
16 Flowers slightly bilaterally symmetrical (2 of the petals of different size than the other 3); fruit a capsular schizocarp of 5 mericarps; carpels 5 Erodium
16 Flowers radially symmetrical; fruit either a loculicidal capsule or a berry; carpels 2 or 3.
17 Fruit a berry; fresh plant rankly fragrant Solanaceae
17 Fruit a capsule; fresh plant not aromatic.
18 Capsule 2-valvate; carpels 2; leaflets prominently serrate or with some tooth-like sublobes Hydrophyllaceae
18 Capsule 3-valvate; carpels 3; leaflets with entire margins Polemonium
11 Leaves more complexly compound (with 2 or more orders of branching, some leaflets at least attached to second-order branches from the rachis).
19 Leaves 2× even-pinnate; flowers in spikes or spherical heads; fruit a legume or loment. Fabaceae
19 Leaves either 2× odd-pinnate or more complexly 2-4× ternately or ternately-pinnately compound; flowers in various inflorescences; fruits various (not legumes or loments).
20 Leaf segments linear, less than 2 mm wide.
21 Inflorescence an umbel; ovary inferior, of 2 fused carpels; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps Apiaceae
21 Inflorescence either a terminal solitary flower or terminal raceme or panicle; ovary superior, either of 2 fused carpels or of 1-5or many distinct 1-carpellate pistils; fruit either a capsule or an aggregate of follicles or achenes.
22 Ovary of 2 fused carpels; fruit a capsule (1-seeded and indehiscent in Fumaria) Fumariaceae
22 Ovary of 1-5or many distinct 1-carpellate pistils; fruit an aggregate of follicles or achenes Ranunculaceae
20 Leaf segments broader, lanceolate, ovate, or elliptic, > 5 mm wide.
23 Herbaceous vine climbing by axillary tendrils; stamens 8 Cardiospermum
23 Erect or sprawling herb; stamens 5-6 or >15.
24 Leaflets sharply serrate, with usually many teeth on each leaflet side, the total number of “points” per leaflet > 10.
25 Inflorescence an umbel; ovary inferior, of 2 fused carpels; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps; inflorescence an umbel Apiaceae
25 Inflorescence a panicle or raceme; ovary superior, of 1-8 carpels; fruit an aggregate of follicles, a single follicle, or an indehiscent berry-like fruit.
26 Flowers bisexual; carpels 1-8; fruit an aggregate of follicles, a single follicle, or an indehiscent berry-like fruit Actaea
26 Flowers unisexual; carpels (in pistillate flowers) of 3 (-5) carpels; fruit an aggregate of follicles Aruncus
24 Leaflets entire, or with 1-several, broad, obtuse, rounded, or broadly acute “sublobes”, especially towards the tip of the leaflet, the total number of “points” per leaflet < 10.
27 Inflorescence an umbel; ovary inferior, of 2 fused carpels; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps Apiaceae
27 Inflorescence a raceme, panicle, or cyme; ovary superior, of either 1-2 fused carpels or of many separate 1-carpellate pistils.
28 Perianth bilaterally symmetrical, the corolla of 4 fused petals; plant a scandent vine or erect or sprawling herb Fumariaceae
28 Perianth radially symmetrical, of 1-5 whorls of separate perianth parts; plant an erect herb.
29 Perianth of 4-5 whorls of 3 parts each (some of the whorls modified into nectaries); pistil 1, 1-carpellate; fruit a drupelike, blue, naked seed; largest leaflets > 6 cm long, obviously longer than wide Caulophyllum
29 Perianth of 1 whorl; of 4-5 parts; pistils many, each 1-carpellate; fruit an aggregate of achenes or an aggregate of follicles; largest leaflets either < 6 cm long, or if longer than 6 cm, also about as wide as long Ranunculaceae

Key P1: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and unlobed leaves on the stem

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40740

1 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 Asteraceae
1 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head, e.g. Eryngium in APIACEAE, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
2 Perianth uniseriate (represented only by undifferentiated tepals or sepals) or completely absent; flowers usually unisexual, less commonly bisexual).
3 Inflorescence a cyathium, consisting of a single pistillate flower (reduced to a single 3-carpellate pistil) and 2 or more staminate flowers (each reduced to 1 stamen), borne in a cup-like involucre, the involucre bearing pointed or rounded glands, these sometimes brightly colored and petaloid, mimicking an individual flower (the cyathia then secondarily arranged in terminal cymes, or solitary and axillary, etc.); fresh plants with milky juice; fruit a 3-lobed, 3-locular capsule Euphorbia
3 Inflorescence not a cyathium (and staminate or bisexual flowers with > 1 stamen; fresh plants lacking milky juice (except Stillingia in EUPHORBIACEAE); fruit various, not as above.
4 Leaf margins toothed in some manner (serrate, dentate, crenate, etc.)
5 Leaf teeth rounded to subacute, resembling shallow lobes, irregular, few (mostly < 6 per leaf side).
6 Fruit a single-seeded achene or utricle; [plants of various disturbed or saline, usually sunny habitats] Chenopodiaceae
6 Fruit a 3-lobed, circumscissilely dehiscent capsule; [plants native of rich moist shaded forests or exotics in suburban woodlands] Pachysandra
5 Leaf teeth sharp to crenate, not lobe-like, regular, many (mostly > 10 per leaf side).
7 Leaf bases cuneate Euphorbiaceae
7 Leaf bases cordate to rounded.
8 Styles 3; fruit a 3-lobed, 3-carpellate capsule (1 carpel sometimes aborting); inflorescence either a terminal or leaf opposed raceme, or a dense axillary condensed cyme with conspicuous toothed bracts subtending the flowers Euphorbiaceae
8 Styles 1 or 2; fruit either an achene or a multiple of achenes; inflorescence either an axillary dense cyme (almost a head), or an axillary spike with glomerules, or a terminal or axillary panicle.
9 Styles 2; inflorescence a dense axillary cyme (almost a head); fruit a multiple of achenes; plant lacking stinging hairs; [exotic plant of weedy situations] Fatoua villosa
9 Style 1; inflorescence an axillary spikes with glomerules, or a terminal or axillary panicle; plant either with stinging hairs or not; [plant a rare exotic (Boehmeria nivea) or a native of moist forests (Boehmeria cylindrica, Laportea)] Urticaceae
4 Leaf margins entire.
10 Ovary inferior or half-inferior.
11 Leaf base cordate; calyx 3-lobed, fused into a bilaterally symmetrical, curved brown or yellowish tube; fruit a capsule Aristolochiaceae
11 Leaf base cuneate, rounded, or truncate; calyx of 3-4-5 distinct sepals, radially symmetrical, white or yellow; fruit a dry, nutlike drupe or an achene.
12 Leaves subsessile or very short petiolate, elliptic or narrowly elliptic, broadest near the middle; [native] Comandra
12 Leaves distinctly petiolate, rhombic, widest near the base; [rarely naturalized exotics].
13 Inflorescence of a single axillary flower Tetragonia tetragonoides
13 Inflorescence terminal, spikelike Beta
10 Ovary superior.
14 Inflorescence a leaf-opposed (sometimes apparently terminal) spike or raceme; flowers visually white from white petaloid sepals, white bracts, or white stamens.
15 Sepals present, 4 or 5; petaloid, white; carpels 1 to many (-12); stamens 4 to many (-25); fruit a berry or an apically 2-lobed achene (as in Petiveria); leaf bases cuneate or rounded (but not cordate); [Eudicots].
16 Sepals 4; carpels 1; fruit subglobose berries or apically lobed achenes Petiveriaceae
16 Sepals 5; carpels 6-12, distinct; fruit an oblate berry Phytolacca
15 Sepals absent; carpels 3-4; stamens 2-6 (-8); fruit a capsule, a 1-seeded drupe, or a schizocarp of 3-4 mericarps; leaf bases cordate or subcordate; [Basal Angiosperms].
17 Fruit a 1-seeded drupe; stamens 2; plants terrestrial or epiphytic Peperomia
17 Fruit a capsule or schizocarp with 3-4 mericarps; stamens 3 or 6-8; plants terrestrial Saururaceae
14 Inflorescence not leaf-opposed, either simpler (single axillary or glomerules of flowers) or more complexly branched (axillary or terminal panicles or complex cymes); flowers white, reddish, scarious, or greenish.
18 Stipules tubular, sheathing (= ocreae); flowers subtended by tubular, sheathing bracteoles (= ocreolae); nodes usually prominently swollen; perianth usually of 5-6 white to pink tepals Polygonaceae
18 Stipules not tubular or sheathing; flowers not subtended by ocreolae; nodes not swollen; perianth absent or of 3-5 sepals.
19 Inflorescence an terminal involucrate cluster; flowers bisexual; stamens 9 Eriogonum
19 Inflorescence axillary, or a terminal panicle or raceme that is not involucrate; stamens 3-6.
20 Ovary 3-locular; styles 3, each bifid; fruit a capsule, with 6 seeds Phyllanthaceae
20 Ovary 1-locular; styles 1-3, not bifid; fruit a utricle or achene (1-seeded).
21 Styles 1, stigma 1; flowers unisexual Parietaria
21 Styles 1-3, if style 1, then stigmas 3; flowers bisexual or unisexual.
22 Tepals acute, scarious Amaranthaceae
22 Tepals usually blunt, herbaceous Chenopodiaceae
2 Perianth biseriate (represented by differentiated whorls of sepals and petals, the sepals usually green or drab in color, the petals often brightly colored); flowers nearly always bisexual (there are exceptions).
23 Ovary inferior or half-inferior.
24 Petals connate.
25 Inflorescence leaf-opposed, a dense, cylindrical spike Sphenoclea zeylanica
25 Inflorescence various, either a terminal head, or axillary and solitary, or variously axillary or terminal and more diffuse.
26 Leaves toothed; flowers blue to white Campanulaceae
26 Leaves entire; flowers white Samolus
24 Petals distinct.
27 Petals 5; stamens 5; inflorescence a head; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps Eryngium
27 Petals 4 7; stamens 6 or more; inflorescence various, not a head; fruit a capsule.
28 Petals 4-7; stamens 1× or 2× as many as the petals, 4-7, 8, 10, 12, or14; leaves herbaceous in texture Onagraceae
28 Petals 5 (or sometimes doubled in horticultural forms); stamens 6-40 (or more); leaves fleshy in texture Portulaca
23 Ovary superior.
29 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical, petals connate (except distinct in VIOLACEAE); fruit a capsule or legume (except a 1-seeded indehiscent spinose pod in Krameria in KRAMERIACEAE).
30 Petals distinct, 5; carpels 3; fruit a 3-loculed capsule Violaceae
30 Petals connate (at least basally), 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8; carpels 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 (rarely 3 in Reseda in RESEDACEAE); fruit a legume or 1-, 2-, or 5-loculed capsule (except a 1-seeded indehiscent pod in Krameria in KRAMERIACEAE).
31 Stamens 6-10 (-25), more than the number (4 or 5) of petals and the number (4 or 5) of the sepals; fruit a legume or a 1-6-carpellate capsule.
32 Stamens fused, monadelphous or diadelphous.
33 Stamens 10, monadelphous or diadelphous; fruit a legume Fabaceae
33 Stamens 6-8, monadelphous; fruit a capsule Polygalaceae
32 Stamens distinct.
34 Carpel 1; fruit a legume Baptisia
34 Carpels 3-6; fruit a capsule Reseda
31 Stamens 4-5, less than the number (5) of the petals; fruit a 2-5-carpellate capsule.
35 Pistil 5-carpellate; capsule 5-locular, explosively dehiscent; inflorescence axillary, small clusters of flowers Impatiens
35 Pistil 2-carpellate; capsule 2 locular, opening gradually or not at all; inflorescence a terminal spike, raceme or panicle (or solitary, axillary flowers in Chaenorrhinum in PLANTAGINACEAE and Krameria in KRAMERIACEAE).
36 Fruit 1-seeded, indehiscent; sepals petaloid, red-purple; petals dimorphic, the upper 3 long-clawed, the lower 2 small, thickened, and glandlike Krameria
36 Fruit > 2-seeded, dehiscent; sepals sepaloid, green; petals not dimorphic.
37 Stamens 5; corolla not spurred; capsule septicidal; pubescence of the stem and leaves either gland-tipped or dendritically branched Verbascum
37 Stamens 4; corolla with a distinct spur or sac at the base between the the 2 lower calyx lobes (except not spurred in Digitalis and Schwalbea); capsule loculicidal (only at the summit in Antirrhinum and Chaenorrhinum, and septicidal in Schwalbea); pubescence of the stem and leaves neither gland-tipped (except in Antirrhinum and Chaenorrhinum) nor dendritically branched.
38 Capsule septicidal; corolla not spurred Orobanchaceae
38 Capsule loculicidal; corolla spurred (except Digitalis) Plantaginaceae
29 Corolla radially symmetrical, petals connate or distinct; fruit various (including a capsule).
39 Petals distinct; stamens 5-many.
40 Pistils 4-10 (each 1-carpellate) in a ring, these sometimes fused basally, each with its own style/stigma; fruit either an aggregate of achenes or follicles or a 5 (-7) locular capsule.
41 Pistils 5 (-7); inflorescence a compound terminal cyme.
42 Fruit an aggregate of follicles; leaves fleshy in texture; inflorescence; leaves entire of sparsely and coarsely serrate, with < 12 points per leaf; [plants primarily of dry habitats] Crassulaceae
42 Fruit a 5 (-7) locular capsule; leaves membranaceous in texture; leaves serrate, with > 20 points per leaf; [plants of wet habitats] Penthorum sedoides
41 Pistils many; inflorescence of solitary flowers, or diffuse.
43 Leaves cuneate at the base; flowers in a diffuse inflorescence Ranunculus
43 Leaves cordate at the base; flowers solitary, on long pedicels Dalibarda repens
40 Pistil 1, with 1-to many carpels (in many MALVACEAE, the carpels loosely united in a ring [of more than 5] around the single style/stigma); fruit either a 1-, 2-, 3-, 5-, 6-, or 10-locular capsule, or a silique/silicle, or a ring of mericarps.
44 Petals 4; sepals 4; stamens 6; fruit a silique/silicle Brassicaceae
44 Petals 5 (rarely 4 or 6); sepals 5 (rarely 4 or 6); stamens 5 (or multiples of 5), 6, or 12; fruit a capsule or a ring of mericarps.
45 Stamens many, connate into a staminal tube; carpels 5-many; fruit a capsule or ring of mericarps; leaves usually serrate Malvaceae
45 Stamens 5-many, distinct; carpels 2-5; fruit a capsule; leaves entire (serrate in Croton in EUPHORBIACEAE).
46 Flowers unisexual; leaf vestiture of peltate scales and/or stellate hairs Croton
46 Flowers bisexual; leaf vestiture simple or stellate.
47 Flowers 6-merous (the petals and sepals 6, the stamens 6 or 12); corolla pink or purplish (rarely white); fruit a septicidal capsule Lythrum
47 Flowers 5-merous (the petals and sepals 5, stamens 5 or various multiples of 5); corolla yellow, reddish, or blue; fruit a loculicidal or septicidal capsule.
48 Stamens 5; corolla yellow or blue; capsule either 10-locular and septicidal or 1-locular (with 3 carpels) and loculicidal.
49 Capsule 10-locular (with 5 carpels) and septicidal Linum
49 Capsule 1-locular (with 3 carpels) and loculicidal Turneraceae
48 Stamens (5-) 10, 15, 20, 30 (-many); corolla white, pink, yellow, or reddish; capsule 3-, 5- (-10)-locular, loculicidal.
50 Stamens (5-) 10, 15, 20, 30 (-many); corolla yellow or reddish; capsule 3 (-10)-locular, loculicidal Cistaceae
50 Stamens 10; corolla white or pink; capsule 5-locular Chimaphila
39 Petals fused; stamens (4-) 5 (-7).
51 Pistils 2, united only by the style and stigma; fruit a schizocarp of 2 follicles (often single by abortion); plant with milky juice when fresh; leaves entire; inflorescence an umbel Apocynaceae
51 Pistil 1 (of 2 or 3 fused carpels); fruit a capsule; plant lacking milky juice; leaves entire or serrate; inflorescence various (but not an umbel).
52 Ovary slightly to deeply 2-4-lobed; fruit a schizocarp of 4 mericarps or a drupe.
53 Ovary deeply 4-parted; style gynobasic; fruit a schizocarp of 4 mericarps Boraginaceae
53 Ovary slightly 2-4-lobed, or not at all lobed; style terminal or reduced to a sessile terminal stigma; fruit a schizocarp of 4 mericarps, or a drupe Heliotropiaceae
52 Ovary not lobed; fruit a capsule or berry.
54 Leaves scale-like, 1-4.5 mm long, appressed to the stem; petals 4; stamens 4 Bartonia
54 Leaves larger (or only 2-8 mm long in Pyxidanthera in DIAPENSIACEAE, but then spreading); petals 5-7; stamens 5-7.
55 Plant a creeping subshrub (keyed here as a failsafe); leaves either 0.2-0.8 cm long and acicular, or 2-10 cm long and broadly ovate or elliptic.
56 Leaves 0.2-0.8 cm long and acicular Pyxidanthera
56 Leaves 2-10 cm long and broadly ovate or elliptic Epigaea repens
55 Plant an herb, erect or sprawling; leaves > 1.5 cm long.
57 Leaves cordate at the base; plant a twining vine Convolvulaceae
57 Leaves cuneate to rounded at the base; plant an erect, sprawling, or reclining herb (twining in Solanum dulcamara in SOLANACEAE).
58 Inflorescences (solitary or of several flowers) terminal on the stem.
59 Corolla lobes longer than the fused corolla cup, blue, pink, or white; styles 2; herbage lacking stipitate glands; fresh plants not aromatic.
60 Flowers in axillary cymes; capsule subglobose; leaves 2-12 cm long Hydrolea
60 Flowers solitary or paired in the leaf axils; capsule cylindrical; leaves 0.5-8 cm long Nama
59 Corolla lobes very short, much shorter than the corolla cup or tube, sometimes barely perceptible and represented only by teeth on the edge of the corolla limb, white or pink; style 1; herbage often with stipitate glands; fresh plants often rankly aromatic Solanaceae
58 Inflorescences (of solitary or several flowers) axillary or lateral on the stem.
61 Flowers sessile or very-short pedicelled, solitary in the leaf axils.
62 Stamens alternate with the corolla lobes; flower ca. 10 mm in diameter Evolvulus
62 Stamens opposite the corolla lobes; flower ca. 1 mm in diameter Lysimachia
61 Flowers either solitary and obviously pedicelled, or several in an axillary or lateral inflorescence.
63 Corolla lobes longer than the fused corolla cup, blue Hydrolea
63 Corolla lobes very short, much shorter than the corolla cup or tube, sometimes barely perceptible and represented only by teeth on the edge of the corolla limb, white, yellow, pink, various other colors (rarely including blue).
64 Fruit a capsule, 4-seeded Convolvulaceae
64 Fruit a berry or capsule, many-seeded Solanaceae

Key P2: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and palmately lobed leaves on the stem

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40741

1 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 Asteraceae
1 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head, e.g. Eryngium in APIACEAE, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
2 Plant a vine, climbing by tendrils or twining.
3 Vine climbing by twining.
4 Leaf margins entire; flowers bisexual; plants hermaphroditic; petals connate, large and showy Convolvulaceae
4 Leaf margins serrate; flowers unisexual; plants dioecious; petals absent Humulus
3 Vine climbing by tendrils.
5 Ovary inferior; petals connate; flowers unisexual Cucurbitaceae
5 Ovary superior; petals distinct; flowers bisexual Passiflora
2 Plant an herb, sometimes sprawling, reclining (e.g. Cymbalaria in PLANTAGINACEAE, Aconitum in RANUNCULACEAE), but lacking climbing adaptations such as tendrils or twining stems.
6 Ovary inferior; inflorescence an umbel; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps
7 Involucre well-developed and obvious Apiaceae
7 Involucre absent or minute Hydrocotyle
6 Ovary superior; inflorescence various, not an umbel; fruit various, a capsule, an aggregate of achenes or follicles, a ring of (>2) mericarps.
8 Perianth uniseriate, the corolla absent (the calyx petaloid and white in Cnidoscolus); flowers unisexual; plants either with stinging hairs or not Euphorbiaceae
8 Perianth biseriate (uniseriate in Aphanes in ROSACEAE and in Trautvetteria in RANUNCULACEAE); flowers bisexual; plants lacking stinging hairs.
9 Pistils many (or 2-3 in Aphanes in ROSACEAE), each with 1 carpel, arranged spirally or in a ring (if in a ring, of 2-5); fruit an aggregate of achenes, follicles, or utricles.
10 Perianth bilaterally symmetrical, either hooded or spurred; fruit an aggregate of follicles Ranunculaceae
10 Perianth radially symmetrical, not hooded or spurred; fruit an aggregate of utricles or achenes (plumose achenes in Geum)
11 Stamens showy, bright white, dilated towards the tip; pistils ca. 15; fruit an aggregate of utricles Trautvetteria
11 Stamens not showy, white, or dilated towards the tip; pistils many (> 25); fruit an aggregate of achenes.
12 Flowers lacking a hypanthium; achenes short-beaked Ranunculus
12 Flowers with a prominent hypanthium; achenes with an elongate, plumose beak Rosaceae
9 Pistil 1, with 1-to many carpels (in many MALVACEAE, the carpels loosely united in a ring of more than 5 around the style); fruit a capsule, an achene, a follicle, or a ring of 3 or 5-many 1-seeded mericarps.
13 Perianth uniseriate, the corolla absent Aphanes
13 Perianth biseriate, with well-developed and differentiated calyx and corolla
14 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical, the petals connate (except distinct in Delphinium in RANUNCULACEAE); fruit a capsule, a follicle, or a schizocarp of 3 1-seeded mericarps.
15 Corolla not spurred; fruit an elongate (10-20 cm) capsule with 2 curved beaks Martyniaceae
15 Corolla with a nectar spur; fruit < 3 cm long.
16 Petals distinct; fruit a follicle Delphinium
16 Petals connate; fruit a capsule or a schizocarp of 3 1-seeded mericarps.
17 Carpels 2; fruit a capsule; stamens 4 Cymbalaria muralis
17 Carpels 3; fruit a schizocarp of 3 1-seeded mericarps; stamens 8 Tropaeolum majus
14 Corolla radially symmetrical, the petals distinct (fused and tubular in Ipomoea); fruit a capsule or a schizocarp consisting of a ring of 5-many 1-seeded mericarps.
18 Stem trailing; petals fused and tubular Ipomoea
18 Stem erect; petals separate.
19 Stamens many, connate into a stamen tube; carpels 5-many, completely or only loosely fused; fruit a capsule or a schizocarp of 5-many mericarps borne in a ring; calyx often subtended by an epicalyx (an additional calyx-like, green, foliaceous whorl of bracts) Malvaceae
19 Stamens 5 or 10, distinct; carpels 2 or 5, fused; fruit a capsule or a schizocarp of 5 1-seeded mericarps.
20 Fruit a schizocarp of 5 1-seeded mericarps; carpels 5; stamens 10 Geranium
20 Fruit a capsule with 2 locules, loculicidal; carpels 2; stamens 5 Hydrophyllum

Key P3: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and pinnately lobed leaves on the stem

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40742

1 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 Asteraceae
1 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head, e.g. Eryngium in APIACEAE, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
2 Perianth uniseriate, with only undifferentiated tepals; flowers many and small, greenish or brownish, inconspicuous individually; inflorescence of glomerules that are usually further aggregated into racemes or panicles; fruit an achene or utricle Chenopodiaceae
2 Perianth biseriate, both sepals and petals present and differentiated (except uniseriate and of 2 white to cream-colored sepals 5-10 mm long in Macleaya in PAPAVERACEAE); flowers larger, usually with the petals prominently colored; inflorescence various, but not as above; fruit a capsule, silique/silicle, or a schizocarp of 2 mericarps.
3 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical and the petals connate into a tube (or the corolla 2-lipped but the corolla lobes twisted so as to make the flower asymmetrical); stamens 4; fruit a 2-locular and loculicidal capsule opening by 2 valves Orobanchaceae
3 Corolla radially symmetrical and either connate into a tube or distinct (except Reseda in RESEDACEAE, with bilateral symmetry but separate petals); stamens 5 or more; fruit a silique/silicle, a schizocarp of 4 mericarps, or a 1-, 3-, or 4-locular capsule (2-locular in Ipomoea in CONVOLVULACEAE and Glaucium in PAPAVERACEAE), opening variously.
4 Ovary inferior; fruit either a schizocarp of 2 mericarps or a 4-locular capsule.
5 Flowers 5-merous, aggregated into a head; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarps Eryngium
5 Flowers 4-merous, in a diffuse inflorescence; fruit a 4-locular capsule Oenothera
4 Ovary superior; fruit either a silique/silicle, or a 1-, 2-, or 3-locular capsule, or a berry.
6 Sepals and petals of different numbers, the sepals 2-3, the petals 0, 4, or 6; stamens many Papaveraceae
6 Sepals and petals the same number, 4-8 each; stamens 5 or 6 (10-25 in Reseda in RESEDACEAE).
7 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical; stamens 10-25 Reseda
7 Corolla radially symmetrical; stamens 5 or 6.
8 Petals 4, distinct; stamens 6; fruit a silique/silicle Brassicaceae
8 Petals 5, connate into a tube; stamens 5; fruit either a capsule or a berry.
9 Plant a twining vine.
10 Corolla with a long tube, much longer than the lobes, scarlet, white, pink, or blue; leaves shallowly to deeply pinnately parted into 3-many lobes Ipomoea
10 Corolla with a short tube, the lobes longer than the tube, purplish; leaves with a single large terminal l lobe, and 2 small basal lobes (these almost separate as leaflets) Solanum dulcamara
9 Plant an erect or sprawling herb.
11 Fruit a capsule, 1-locular; corolla white, pink, lavender, or blue, the tube short (< 4 mm long), the lobes flaring, the corolla < 15 mm long or wide Hydrophyllaceae
11 Fruit either a capsule, 2- or-3 locular, or a berry; corolla scarlet, blue, white, yellow, greenish-yellow, or purple, the tube long (>10 mm long) and cylindrical, the corolla > 10 mm long or wide.
12 Stigmas 3; fruit a capsule with 3 valves; leaf lobes 0.5-5 mm wide, often themselves lobed, the sinuses very deep, often nearly to the leaf midvein Key to Polemoniaceae
12 Stigmas 2; fruit either a capsule with 2 valves or a berry; leaf lobes > 5 mm wide, not lobed themselves, the sinuses shallow, often < 1/2 way to the midvein Solanaceae

Key Q: herbaceous dicots with whorled leaves on the stem {add [Platycodon] CAMPANULACEAE}

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40743

1 Cauline leaves palmately compound.
2 Cauline leaves essentially sessile, and also palmately cleft to the base, and further lacerately divided into linear or oblanceolate segments Anemone
2 Cauline leaves petiolate, with 3-5, sessile or petiolulate, ovate, elliptic, or obovate leaflets (these serrate and sometimes with additional lobes).
3 Inflorescence a spherical umbel of many flowers; fruit a drupe with 2-3 seeds; stem leaves 3-5
4 Leaflets 3 (-5), sessile or subsessile, the petiolules 0-3 mm long; larger leaflets 4-8 cm long, 0.5-2.5 cm wide, averaging about 2.5× as long as wide, the apex obtuse to acute; fruit yellow-green when ripe, longitudinally winged and ribbed in ×-section; petals white (rarely tinged with pink); inflorescence nodding in bud; underground storage organ a spherical tuber Nanopanax trifolius
4 Leaflets (3-) 5, petiolulate, the petiolules (7-) 10-25 mm long; larger leaflets 6-15 cm long, 3.5-7 cm wide, averaging about 1.8× as long as wide, the apex acuminate; fruit bright red when ripe, smoothly elliptical in ×-section; petals light green; inflorescence erect in bud; underground storage organ an +/- elongate root, this vertical or horizontal, and sometimes branched Panax quinquefolius
3 Inflorescence of single terminal flowers on the 1-several branches; fruit an aggregate of achenes; stem leaves 3 Anemone
1 Cauline leaves simple.
5 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, heads solitary or many, variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences; fruit a cypsela Asteraceae
5 Inflorescence various, but not as above; fruit various, not as above (sometimes the flowers tightly grouped, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
6 Fruit a 3-lobed, 3-locular capsule; inflorescence a cyathium, consisting of a single pistillate flower (reduced to a single 3-carpellate pistil) and 2 or more staminate flowers (each reduced to 1 stamen), borne in a cup-like involucre, the involucre bearing pointed or rounded glands, these sometimes brightly colored and petaloid, mimicking an individual flower (the cyathia then secondarily arranged in terminal cymes, or solitary and axillary, etc.); fresh plants with milky juice Euphorbia
6 Fruit various, not as above; inflorescence not a cyathium (and staminate or bisexual flowers almost always with > 1 stamen); fresh plants lacking milky juice.
7 Leaves succulent, the terminal whorls closely juxtaposed; pistils 4-5; fruit an aggregate of follicles Sedum
7 Leaves herbaceous, thin in texture, whorls separated; pistil 1, of 2-5 fused carpels; fruit a capsule, achene, or drupe.
8 Larger whorled leaves on a plant < 10 mm wide [some taxa keyed here and under the second lead].
9 Inflorescence a cymule, either axillary, or axillary and terminal; ovary inferior.
10 Leaves markedly variable in shape or size in each whorl; fruit a capsule; petals 5 Molluginaceae
10 Leaves similar in size and shape in each whorl; fruit dry or fleshy, indehiscent; petals (3-) 4 Galium
9 Inflorescence a terminal raceme, panicle, spike, cyme, corymb, or umbel; ovary superior.
11 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical, the petals connate; carpels 2; stamens 4, 6, or 8.
12 Stamens 4; corolla blue or almost white Plantaginaceae
12 Stamens 6 or 8; corolla pink or yellow Polygalaceae
11 Corolla radially symmetrical, the petals separate; carpels 2, 3, or 5; stamens 5, 10, or many.
13 Inflorescence an axillary umbel; leaves narrowly linear and more than 10× as long as wide, > 20 mm long and < 2 mm wide; whorls of 3-6 leaves Asclepias verticillata
13 Inflorescence a terminal cyme, raceme, panicle, or umbel; leaves as above, or broader in shape, narrower, or shorter; whorls of 3-16 leaves.
14 Inflorescence a terminal cyme or umbel; corolla white; carpels 5.
15 Leaves narrowly linear, 12-16 in each whorl; stamens 5 Spergula
15 Leaves ovate or obovate, 3 (-4) in each whorl Chimaphila
14 Inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle; corolla reddish, maroon, or yellow.
16 Corolla reddish or maroon Lechea
16 Corolla yellow Primulaceae
8 Larger whorled leaves on a plant > 10 mm wide.
17 Inflorescence a spike; perianth absent; fruit a drupe Peperomia
17 Inflorescence various, but not a spike; perianth present; fruit various, but not a drupe.
18 Inflorescence of terminal involucrate clusters; perianth of 6 tepals; fruit an achene; stamens 9; [plants of very dry habitats] Eriogonum
18 Inflorescence various, but not as above; perianth of 2 whorls (the calyx often obsolete in Galium in RUBIACEAE), 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7-merous; stamens 2-7; [plants of dry-mesic to very wet habitats].
19 Fruit dry or fleshy, indehiscent; petals (3-) 4; ovary inferior Galium
19 Fruit a capsule or follicle, dehiscent; petals 4-7; ovary superior.
20 Inflorescence an umbel; fresh plants with milky juice Asclepias quadrifolia
20 Inflorescence not an umbel; fresh plants with clear juice.
21 Corolla pink-purple, 6-merous, the petals separate and borne on the edge of a hypanthium; stamens 8, 10, or 12; [plants of wetlands] Lythraceae
21 Corolla white, yellow, or greenish, 4-, 5-, or 7-merous, the petals fused at least basally into a tube (falling as a unit), not on a hypanthium; stamens 2, 4, 5, or 7; [plants of mesic habitats].
22 Stamens 2; corolla bilaterally symmetrical Veronicastrum virginicum
22 Stamens 4, 5, or 7; corolla radially symmetrical.
23 Petals yellowish-white, with prominent green streaks; biennial or monocarpic plant, 10-30 dm tall when fertile; leaves 15-35 cm long Frasera caroliniensis
23 Petals white or yellow; perennial plants, 1-15 dm tall; leaves 1-15 cm long.
24 Leaves punctate; stem without swollen nodes Lysimachia
24 Leaves not punctate; stem with swollen nodes Silene

Key R: herbaceous dicots with opposite, compound leaves on the stem

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40744

1 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, heads solitary or many, variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences; fruit a cypsela Asteraceae
1 Inflorescence various, but not as above; fruit various, not as above.
2 Leaves pinnately compound.
3 Leaves even-pinnate Zygophyllaceae
3 Leaves odd-pinnate.
4 Plants vines, climbing or sprawling, the leaves often with tendril like petioles and leaf rachises; corolla 4-parted, radially symmetrical Clematis
4 Plants not vines, more or less erect to arching and lacking adaptations for climbing; corolla 5-parted, radially or bilaterally symmetrical
5 Plants often with a mix of mostly opposite, deeply 3-lobed leaves or trifoliate leaves (leaves sometimes simple); flowers pink or purplish-white, axillary; plants annual Ceratotheca triloba
5 Plants typically with all leaves with > 3 leaflets; flowers primarily white, borne in dense terminal corymbs/cymes; plants perennial Valeriana
2 Leaves palmately compound.
6 Cauline leaves essentially sessile, and also palmately cleft to the base, and further lacerately divided into linear or oblanceolate segments Anemone
6 Cauline leaves petiolate, with 3-5, sessile or petiolulate, ovate, elliptic, or obovate leaflets (these serrate and sometimes with additional lobes).
7 Plants annual; flowers typically unisexual and not showy, green; plants highly resinous and glandular; inflorescences variously arranged Cannabis sativa
7 Plants perennial; flowers radially symmetric, showy, variously colored; plants typically not strongly resinous or glandular; inflorescences terminal Anemone

Key S1: herbaceous dicots with opposite, simple, and unlobed leaves on the stem

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40746

1 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 Asteraceae
1 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head, e.g. Pycnanthemum in LAMIACEAE, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
2 Leaves scale-like, stems fleshy; flowers embedded in the fleshy stem, no perianth present; [saline environments (coastal or rarely inland)]. Chenopodiaceae
2 Leaves small to large; stems not fleshy; flowers sessile or on pedicels; [collectively of many habitats, saline and not].
3 Ovary inferior or partially inferior.
4 Perianth of a single whorl (petals absent) (note that in Mirabilis in NYCTAGINACEAE the petaloid calyx is subtended by a 5-lobed fused set of involucral bracts).
5 Leaves herbaceous, suborbicular, about as long as wide or wider than long; calyx 3- or 4-merous; stamens 4, 8, or 12.
6 Plant ascending, with a single node (2 leaves); leaves > 6 cm long and wide; calyx 3-merous, brown to yellowish; stamens 12 Asarum
6 Plant creeping, with many nodes; leaves 3-15 mm long and wide; calyx 4-merous, yellow to greenish; stamens 4 or 8 Chrysosplenium americanum
5 Leaves fleshy, linear, lanceolate, to broadly ovate, at least slightly longer than broad; calyx 5-merous; stamens 3, 5, or 10.
7 Flowers axillary, sessile or nearly so, solitary or a few; petaloid sepals widely spreading, separate; leaves linear to oblanceolate; stamens 5 or 30-50 Sesuvium
7 Flowers in terminal cymose panicles; petaloid sepals connate into a narrow tube (reminiscent of the corolla of Ipomoea); leaves lanceolate, elliptic, ovate, or broadly ovate; stamens 3 or 5 Key to Nyctaginaceae
4 Perianth in 2 whorls (sepals and petals both present).
8 Petals distinct; inflorescence diffuse.
9 Leaves distinctly 3-veined from the base, the 3 veins converging again at the leaf apex Rhexia
9 Leaves with prominently pinnate venation Onagraceae
8 Petals connate into a tube (at least basally); inflorescence often a head or dense terminal cyme (also axillary, or solitary on long peduncles).
10 Petals 5; stamens 3, 4, or 5
11 Creeping subshrub; flowers paired at tip of an upright peduncle Linnaea borealis var. longiflora
11 Upright herb; flowers in axils or terminal corymbs
12 Flowers in terminal corymbs; fruit dry Valerianaceae
12 Flowers axillary; fruit fleshy Triosteum
10 Petals 4 (or 6 or 8 in Richardia in RUBIACEAE); stamens 4, 6, or 8.
13 Inflorescence a head, subtended by 4 large bright white bracts Chamaepericlymenum canadense
13 Inflorescence a head or more diffuse (see below), sometimes subtended by green bracts.
14 Leaves serrate; corolla bilaterally symmetrical (especially the flowers near the outer edge of the head); inflorescence a head Dipsacaceae
14 Leaves entire; corolla radially symmetrical; inflorescence a head or more diffuse (see below).
15 Petals acute; flowers in terminal panicles, cymes, or panicles, or axillary; plant habit various, not simultaneously with all the characters below Rubiaceae
15 Petals broadly rounded; flowers axillary, solitary; plant a diffusely branched herb with linear leaves Polypremum procumbens
3 Ovary superior.
16 Perianth of a single whorl (petals absent) or missing entirely (petals and sepals both absent). {key lead number needs adjusting}
17 Inflorescence a cyathium, consisting of a single pistillate flower (reduced to a single 3-carpellate pistil) and 2 or more staminate flowers (each reduced to 1 stamen), borne in a cup-like involucre, the involucre bearing pointed or rounded glands, these sometimes brightly colored and petaloid, mimicking an individual flower (the cyathia then secondarily arranged in terminal cymes, or solitary and axillary, etc.); fresh plants with milky juice; fruit a 3-lobed, 3-locular capsule Euphorbia
17 Inflorescence not a cyathium (and staminate or bisexual flowers with > 1 stamen, except Callitriche in PLANTAGINACEAE); fresh plants lacking milky juice; fruit various, not as above.
18 Flowers 1 (or 2) in leaf axils; leaves entire.
19 Flowers unisexual; sepals 0; flowers (staminate) with 1 stamen Callitriche
19 Flowers bisexual; sepals 4; flowers with 2, 4, or 6 stamens.
20 Leaves of an opposite pair markedly different in size Trianthema portulacastrum
20 Leaves of an opposite pair essentially the same size Key to Lythraceae
18 Flowers many, in axillary spikes, cymes, or glomerules, or in terminal spikes, heads, cymes, or panicles; leaves entire or serrate.
21 Fruit a 2-locular capsule Mercurialis
21 Fruit single-seeded, an achene or utricle.
22 Leaves serrate, regularly and sharply so; plants with stinging hairs (or not) Key to Urticaceae
22 Leaves entire, or with a few very obscure crenations (Iresine) or basally disposed rounded lobe-like teeth (Atriplex); plants without stinging hairs.
23 Leaves of a pair slightly to strongly different in size Key to Pilea
23 Leaves of a pair the same size.
24 Styles 1-2 (-3); leaves 2-30 mm long, 0.5-8 mm wide, linear or narrowly elliptic Caryophyllaceae
24 Style 1; leaves generally either longer than 30 mm, or wider than 8 mm (if linear and smaller than those dimensions, then fleshy).
25 Tepals scarious; inflorescence of heads, spikes, or panicles Amaranthaceae
25 Tepals herbaceous; inflorescence of glomerules, these axillary or arrayed in spikes or panicles Atriplex
16 Perianth in 2 whorls (sepals and petals both present).
26 Gynoecium of 4-many pistils, each 1-carpellate.
27 Pistils 4-5, in a single whorl; stamens 4, 5, 8, or 10; fruit an aggregate of follicles Crassulaceae
27 Pistils many, spiral; stamens many; fruit an aggregate of plumose achenes Clematis
26 Gynoecium either of 1 pistil (with 1 or more carpels), or of 2 pistils, united only by the style and stigma (APOCYNACEAE).
28 Petals not at all connate, not even at their bases.
29 Leaves with pellucid punctate glands (most easily visible with transmitted light); stamens often fascicled into 3, 4, or 5 fascicles; petals yellow or pinkish Hypericaceae
29 Leaves lacking pellucid punctate glands; stamens not fascicled; petals variously colored.
30 Sepals 2; stamens opposite the petals Portulacaceae
30 Sepals 3-7; stamens opposite the sepals.
31 Petals 3; sepals 5, dimorphic, the 2 outer sepals narrower than the 3 inner and concave sepals; stamens (3-) 5-15 (-25) Lechea
31 Petals 4-7; sepals 4-7, normally monomorphic; stamens 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, or 12 (or sometimes rarely 2 or 3).
32 Capsule 2-5 (-6) locular; style 1; perianth 4-7-merous; stamens 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 Lythraceae
32 Capsule either 1-locular of 10-locular; styles 2-5; perianth 4-5-merous; stamens 4, 5, 8, or 10 (or rarely 2 or 3).
33 Capsule 1-locular, dehiscent apically by teeth or valves; sepals connate into a tube or separate; styles 2-5; perianth 4-5-merous; stamens 4, 5, 8, or 10 (or rarely 2 or 3) Caryophyllaceae
33 Capsule 10-locular (each of the 5 carpels divided at maturity), septicidal; sepals distinct or nearly so; styles 5, perianth 5-merous; stamens 5 Linum
28 Petals connate at least for a short distance at their bases.
34 Corolla radially symmetrical (or so slightly bilaterally symmetrical as to be mistakable as radially symmetrical); stamens as many as the corolla lobes (or 1 less in Ruellia in ACANTHACEAE, Buchnera in OROBANCHACEAE, Trichostema in LAMIACEAE, and Verbena in VERBENACEAE); carpels 2 or 3.
35 Pistils 2, united only by the style and stigma; fruit a schizocarp of 2 1-carpellate follicles (often single by abortion); plant with milky juice when fresh (except Catharanthus); leaves entire Apocynaceae
35 Pistil 1 (of 2-5 fused carpels); fruit either a 2-5-carpellate capsule or of 2 or 4 1-seeded nutlets derived from 2 carpels; plant lacking milky juice; leaves entire or serrate.
36 Ovary and capsule 3-5-carpellate; capsule 3- or 1-locular.
37 Sepals 2 Montia
37 Sepals 5.
38 Inflorescence a terminal cyme; corolla salverform, with an elongated and very narrow tube, pink or white; capsule 3-locular Phlox
38 Inflorescence various but not cymose, of terminal or axillary racemes or panicles, or of solitary axillary flowers; corolla connate only at the base, the petals appearing nearly separate (not salverform); capsule 1-locular Lysimachia
36 Ovary and capsule 2-carpellate; fruit either a 2-locular capsule or of 2 or 4 1-seeded nutlets derived from 2 carpels.
39 Stamens 4-12, the same number as the corolla lobes; corolla (and the flower as a whole) strictly radially symmetrical.
40 Capsule septicidal; corolla white, pink, blue, yellowish white, or greenish white; inflorescence either a terminal or axillary cyme, or a terminal panicle or raceme, or a terminal or axillary cyme reduced to 1 or a few flowers Gentianaceae
40 Capsule loculicidal and also deeply 2-lobed; corolla white, pink, or scarlet with a yellow interior; inflorescence of cymosely arranged spikes Loganiaceae
39 Stamens either 4, 1 fewer than the 5 corolla lobes, or 2 (with 2 staminodes); corolla usually slightly bilaterally symmetrical (the flower as a whole made bilaterally symmetrical by the 2 or 4 stamens).
41 Leaves entire; corolla tube flaring for all of its length
42 Fruit a schizocarp of 4 1-seeded nutlets; inflorescence terminal, of cymes; corolla ca. 5 mm long; leaves prominently 3-veined Trichostema
42 Fruit a capsule; inflorescence axillary, of cymes or clusters (often reduced to a solitary flower); corolla > 12 mm long; leaves with single primary vein Acanthaceae
41 Leaves serrate; corolla salverform, the tube narrow and nearly the same diameter for most of its length; inflorescence a terminal spike, raceme, raceme of racemes, or head.
43 Fruit a 2-locular capsule; stamens inserted near the base of the corolla tube Buchnera
43 Fruit a schizocarp of 4 mericarps; stamens inserted near or above the middle of the corolla tube Verbenaceae
34 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical (or the corolla 2-lipped but the corolla lobes twisted so as to make the flower asymmetrical); fertile stamens fewer than the corolla lobes (except Plantago in PLANTAGINACEAE, which is equal, with 4 each; a few genera have a 5th, sterile, stamen which is obviously different in form than the 4 fertile stamens) (note that many corollas are bilabiate and the number of corolla lobes, 4 or 5, may be difficult to interpret); carpels 2.
44 Carpels 2, each carpel slightly to deeply lobed, separating at maturity into 4 half-carpellate units (not separating in Phyla in VERBENACEAE); fruit a schizocarp of 4 mericarps (or 2 nutlets in Phyla in VERBENACEAE).
45 Inflorescence a thyrse, verticillaster, or terminal cyme, the flowers borne in cymose lateral branches; corolla strongly bilaterally symmetrical (rarely nearly radially symmetrical); stems square in ×-section (or sometimes rounded, especially on older growth); fresh plants often (but not always) aromatic Lamiaceae
45 Inflorescence of spikes, racemes, or heads, the flowers or fruits single at nodes; corolla often nearly radially symmetrical; stems rounded in X-section (rarely square); fresh plants usually not aromatic Verbenaceae
44 Carpels 2, unlobed; fruit a capsule (or an achene in Phryma).
46 Stamens 2.
47 Corolla 4 lobed, almost radially symmetrical; corolla scarious, white, or bluish Plantaginaceae
47 Corolla 4-5-lobed, either strongly bilabiate or salverform (Pseuderanthemum in ACANTHACEAE); white, blue, or yellow.
48 Inflorescence an axillary cluster or spike Acanthaceae
48 Inflorescence of solitary (rarely 2) axillary flower. {add [Hypoestes] ACANTHACEAE}
49 Sepals 4 Linderniaceae
49 Sepals 5, distinct or nearly so.
50 Corolla barely bilaterally symmetrical, the lobes about as long as the tube; outer sepals ovate, much wider than the inner sepals Bacopa
50 Corolla distinctly bilabiate, the lobes shorter than the tube; sepals of nearly the same width.
51 Sterile stamens (the lower pair) consisting of slender filaments Lindernia
51 Sterile stamens minute or completely absent Gratiola
46 Stamens 4.
52 Corolla 4 lobed, nearly radially symmetrical; corolla scarious Plantago
52 Corolla 5-lobed, distinctly bilabiate or in some nearly radially symmetrical; corolla colored.
53 Flowers in terminal racemes, panicles, or spikes, the inflorescence not interspersed with large, leaf-like bracts.
54 Sepals separate to the base or nearly so, not forming a tube Plantaginaceae
54 Sepals connate for at least 0.3× their length to form a tube (this cup-like and flaring in Scrophularia in SCROPHULARIACEAE).
55 Inflorescence a diffuse panicle; corolla 5-11 mm long, reddish-brown (sometimes with some yellow); fruit a septicidal capsule Scrophularia
55 Inflorescence of 1 or more terminal (and sometimes upper axillary) spikes or racemes; corolla 10-50 mm long (6-8 mm long in Phryma in PHRYMACEAE), white, pink, blue, purple, or yellow; fruit either a loculicidal capsule (OROBANCHACEAE) or a single seeded achene (Phryma in PHRYMACEAE).
56 Corolla 10-50 mm long, pink, blue, purple, or yellow; fruit a loculicidal capsule Orobanchaceae
56 Corolla 6-8 mm long, white to pale pink; fruit a 1-seeded achene contained in the accrescent calyx, this “lopping down” against the inflorescence axis Phryma
53 Flowers axillary and solitary, borne in the axils of normally-sized leaves or somewhat reduced but still large and leaf-like bracts [some taxa keyed here and below].
57 Sepals separate to the base or nearly so, not forming a tube.
58 Corolla distinctly bilabiate Lindernia
58 Corolla not bilabiate, only slightly bilaterally symmetrical.
59 Leaves serrate, 2.0-4.5 cm long; plant usually blackening on drying Mecardonia
59 Leaves entire, either mostly larger or smaller [see below]; plant not blackening on drying
60 Leaves 0.6-2.8 cm long, round, obovate, or broadly elliptic, < 1.8× as long as wide; plants creeping, ascending to 3 dm tall; [plants of wet places] Bacopa
60 Leaves 3-30 cm long, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, > 2× as long as wide; plants erect or the stems sprawling; [plants mostly of uplands] Acanthaceae
57 Sepals connate for at least 0.3× their length to form a tube.
61 Corolla yellow, orange, or red.
62 Calyx lobes longer than the tube, or as long as the tube, corolla 25-50 mm long; plants usually blackening on drying Aureolaria
62 Calyx lobes shorter than the tube; corolla 14-22 mm long; plants not blackening on drying.
63 Corolla red or orange, with a very narrow, cylindrical tube, the lobes then flaring into a limb about 1 cm across; plants blackening on drying; [rare exotic, in crop fields, a noxious hemiparasitic weed under quarantine] Striga
63 Corolla yellow, not narrowly cylindrical, the lower lip arched; plants not blackening on drying; [rare, in seepage wetlands] Erythranthe
61 Corolla white, pale blue, lavender, or pink (sometimes with some yellow).
64 Corolla pink (sometimes almost white), often lined with yellow inside; leaves narrowly linear, often filiform (except lanceolate in A. auriculata); plants usually blackening on drying (some species do not); corolla not strongly bilabiate Agalinis
64 Corolla white, blue, or combinations of blue and white (sometimes with some yellow markings); leaves broader, mostly lanceolate; plants not blackening on drying; corolla strongly bilabiate.
65 Upper lip of the corolla hooded, enfolding the anthers Melampyrum
65 Upper lip of the corolla not hooded and enclosing the anthers; plants not blackening on drying.
66 Corolla blue; lower lip of the corolla arched upwards into the throat; plants perennial from rhizomes or crowns, 3-13 dm tall Mimulus
66 Corolla bicolored, the upper lip white or very pale blue, the lower lip bright blue; lower lip of the corolla folded downward into a pouch enfolding the anthers; plants annuals, 0.5-4 dm tall Collinsia

Key S2: herbaceous dicots with opposite, simple, and palmately lobed leaves on the stem {add [Humulus] CANNABINACEAE}

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40747

1 Leaf lobes very narrow, < 3 mm wide; 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 Asteraceae
1 Leaf lobes broad, >20 mm wide; inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above.
2 Leaves >4 per above-ground stem; perianth 5-merous; flowers bilaterally symmetrical, the corolla with connate petals, lavender-white with yellow markings in the throat; fruit a large curved capsule Proboscidea louisiana ssp. louisiana
2 Leaves 1-2 per above-ground stem; perianth 3-merous; flowers radially symmetrical, the corolla absent or with distinct petals, white; fruit a berry or aggregate of berries.
3 Leaves with peltate petiole attachment; carpel 1; petals present, white Berberidaceae
3 Leaves with petiole attached marginally; carpels many, as separate pistils; petals absent Hydrastis

Key S3: herbaceous dicots with opposite, simple, and pinnately lobed leaves on the stem

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

https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-key.php&keyid=40748

1 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 Asteraceae
1 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers tightly grouped, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).
2 Flowers tiny, individually inconspicuous; perianth absent or vestigial; fruit a utricle Atriplex
2 Flowers larger, individually conspicuous; perianth present, the petals or sepals brightly colored; fruit a capsule (or aggregate of achenes in Clematis in RANUNCULACEAE or schizocarp of 4 mericarps in Glandularia in VERBENACEAE).
3 Flowers radially symmetrical; stamens 5 or many; fruit a capsule or aggregate of achenes.
4 Stamens 5; fruit a capsule Ellisia nyctelea
4 Stamens many; fruit an aggregate of plumose achenes Clematis
3 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical (sometimes only slightly so); stamens 4 (or 2 in Veronica in PLANTAGINACEAE); fruit a capsule or schizocarp of mericarps.
5 Inflorescence of cymosely arranged spikes or heads; fruit a schizocarp of 4 nutlets Glandularia
5 Inflorescence of solitary axillary flowers or terminal racemes.
6 Corolla yellow, orange, or red; plants often drying black (but not Striga); sepals connate into a tube at least 1/3 as long as the corolla lobes; calyx 5-merous Orobanchaceae
6 Corolla white, pink, lavender, or blue; plants not drying black; sepals distinct or only shortly connate into a short tube, the calyx lobes much longer than the tube; calyx 5- or 4-merous Plantaginaceae

Colors

Data mode

Account

We've finished our 2024 fundraiser. Many thanks to those who have given! It's not too late to support us (click here)...

No key was found for the requested taxon, but it is the only child of Asteraceae. Showing where it is keyed below.

Glossary (beta!)

Key G4: shrubs and subshrubs with alternate, simple, unlobed, entire leaves

Key G5: shrubs and subshrubs with alternate, simple, unlobed, toothed leaves

Key J4: shrubs and subshrubs with opposite simple leaves with entire margins

Key N1: herbaceous dicots with mainly basal, compound leaves

Key N2: herbaceous dicots with mainly basal, simple leaves

Key O: herbaceous dicots with alternate, compound leaves on the stem

Key P1: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and unlobed leaves on the stem

Key P2: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and palmately lobed leaves on the stem

Key P3: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and pinnately lobed leaves on the stem

Key Q: herbaceous dicots with whorled leaves on the stem {add [Platycodon] CAMPANULACEAE}

Key R: herbaceous dicots with opposite, compound leaves on the stem

Key S1: herbaceous dicots with opposite, simple, and unlobed leaves on the stem

Key S2: herbaceous dicots with opposite, simple, and palmately lobed leaves on the stem {add [Humulus] CANNABINACEAE}

Key S3: herbaceous dicots with opposite, simple, and pinnately lobed leaves on the stem