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1 Plant an herb, subshrub, or sprawling shrub, not clonal by underground rhizomes (except Gaultheria procumbens and Epigaea repens), rarely > 3 dm tall; plants mycotrophic or hemi-mycotrophic (except Epigaea, Gaultheria, and Arctostaphylos). | |
2 Plants without chlorophyll (fully mycotrophic); stems fleshy; leaves represented by bract-like scales, white or variously colored, but not green; pollen grains single; [subfamily Monotropoideae; tribe Monotropeae]. | |
3 Petals separate; fruit erect, a capsule; flower and fruit 1-several per stem. | |
4 Flowers few to many, racemose; stem pubescent, at least in the inflorescence; plant yellow, orange, or red when fresh, aging or drying dark brown | |
2 Plants with chlorophyll (hemi-mycotrophic or autotrophic); stems woody; leaves present and well-developed, green; pollen grains in tetrads (single in Orthilia). | |
6 Style and filaments straight; filaments straight, the anthers closely surrounding the style; inflorescence distinctly secund (1-sided) | |
7 Plant erect, the leaves clustered near the apex of the single stem. | |
8 Leaves lanceolate or oblanceolate, normally 2-4× as long as wide (sometimes proportionately less narrow in stunted individuals; fruit a capsule, borne 1-several on an erect scape above the leaves [subfamily Monotropoideae; tribe Pyroleae] | |
7 Plant creeping or sprawling, leaves scattered along the stems. | |
9 Flowers in axillary or terminal spikes or racemes; fruit a fleshy loculicidal capsule or red drupe. | |
1 Plant either a shrub or tree (> 3 dm tall), or a shrub 1-3 dm tall (rarely a woody needle-leaved subshrub 0.5-1 m and definitely and obviously clonal by underground rhizomes; plants not mycotrophic or hemi-mycotrophic. | |
11 Leaves ca. 1 mm wide, 3-12 mm long, appearing opposite, alternate, or whorled (the internodes very short, thus the leaves generally appearing whorled); petals absent; fruit a subglobose, 2-stoned drupe, 1-3 mm in diameter; branches often appearing in whorls of 3-7; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Empetreae] | |
15 Petals separate; fruit 2-7-locular; either a shrub to 1 m tall with ovate to oblong, evergreen leaves, 0.6-1.2 cm long, or a shrub to small tree 2-6 (-9) m tall with elliptic, deciduous leaves, 4-12 cm long, or a shrub 1-2.5 m tall, with elliptic to ovate, evergreen leaves 2-4 cm long; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Phyllodoceae]. {add Rhododendron groenlandicum} | |
16 Fruit 2-3 (5)-locular; shrub to 1 m tall; leaves, 0.4-1.2 cm long; petals 2-4 mm long | |
16 Fruit 4-7-locular; shrub to small tree 1-6 (-9) m tall; leaves 2-12 cm long; petals 12-30 mm long. | |
17 Fruit 7-locular; leaves evergreen 2-4 cm long; petals 20-30 mm long; shrub 1-2.5 m tall | |
18 Leaves alternate or whorled, > 20 mm long. | |
21 Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, shiny and dark green above. | |
22 Leaves sharply and distinctly serrate. | |
23 Pedicels slender, 7-10 mm long; filaments strongly curved just below the anthers; pith transversely diaphragmed; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Lyonieae] | |
25 Leaves with a prominent vein running parallel to (and about 1 mm in from) the margin; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Lyonieae] | |
25 Leaves without a prominent marginal vein. | |
27 Flower stalks with 2 opposite or subopposite triangular bractlets near the base of the pedicel; leaf lower surface punctate with stalked red glands | |
21 Leaves membranaceous or subcoriaceous, deciduous or evergreen, if subcoriaceous and evergreen, then not shiny and dark green above. | |
28 Capsules ovoid to globose or subglobose, about as long as broad, or broader than long, 2-7 mm long. | |
33 Leaves linear to narrowly lanceolate, 8× or more as long as wide. strongly revolute, strongly whitened beneath; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Andromedeae] | |
33 Leaves broader, not revolute or slightly so, not strongly whitened below. | |
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1 Leaves serrate. | |
2 Leaf venation palmate, the leaf often lobed or at least pentagonal in shape (as well as serrate); plants climbing by leaf-opposed tendrils | |
2 Leaf venation pinnate, the leaf neither lobed nor pentagonal; plants climbing by other mechanisms (see below). | |
3 Plants climbing by adventitious roots, by twining, or by growing through bark layers of Taxodium ascendens or Chamaecyparis thyoides; [collectively widespread in our region]. | |
4 Plants climbing by adventitious roots; leaf base cordate or subcordate, and also slightly to strongly oblique | |
4 Plants climbing by twining, or by growing through bark layers of Taxodium ascendens or Chamaecyparis thyoides; leaf base cuneate, rounded, or cordate. | |
1 Leaves entire. | |
7 Stems lacking prickles; tendrils either absent or (if present) not stipular and paired; [Eudicots or Basal Angiosperms]. | |
10 Leaves elliptic or ovate, obviously longer than broad, most leaves > 1.4× as long as wide; leaf blade base narrowly cuneate, broadly cuneate, rounded, or subcordate. | |
11 Leaves 3-8 cm long, rounded to broadly cuneate at the base and rounded or obtuse at the apex; lateral leaf veins straight, parallel, not forking; inflorescence a terminal thyrse or panicle | |
11 Leaves 6-15 cm long, cuneate at the base and acuminate at the apex; lateral leaf veins forking at or beyond the middle; inflorescence a solitary, axillary flower | |
12 Leaf venation pinnate, but “pseudopalmate”, with 3 primary veins from the marginal point of attachment of the petiole, the 2 lateral veins then promptly rebranching (< 1 cm from the leaf base) into 2-3 prominent veins (the remainder of the venation pinnate along the midvein); basalmost pair of primary veins exposed (lacking leaf tissue) on their basal side for > 2 mm; leaf blade base deeply cordate; leaf with no tendency to lobing, the leaf outline convex from the base to the apex (except in the immediate vicinity of the petiole and sometimes immediately near a slightly acuminate apex | |
12 Leaf venation palmate, with (3-) 5-9 primary veins from the marginal or peltate point of attachment of the petiole, these primary veins then rebranching well above the leaf base; basalmost pair of primary veins completely included within leaf tissue; leaf blade base cordate, subcordate, rounded, or broadly cuneate; leaf with a tendency to lobing, the leaf outline with 1 or more concave areas between the base and the apex (except Cissampelos of s. FL) |