Flora of the Southeastern United States

Leaves serrate.

Leaf venation palmate, the leaf often lobed or at least pentagonal in shape (as well as serrate); plants climbing by leaf-opposed tendrils

Leaf venation pinnate, the leaf neither lobed nor pentagonal; plants climbing by other mechanisms (see below).

Plants climbing by axillary tendrils; [FL]

Plants climbing by adventitious roots, by twining, or by growing through bark layers of Taxodium ascendens or Chamaecyparis thyoides; [collectively widespread in our region].

Plants climbing by adventitious roots; leaf base cordate or subcordate, and also slightly to strongly oblique

Plants climbing by twining, or by growing through bark layers of Taxodium ascendens or Chamaecyparis thyoides; leaf base cuneate, rounded, or cordate.

Leaves strongly cordate at the base, 7-15 cm wide

Leaves cuneate, rounded, or subcordate at the base, 0.3-8 cm wide.

Leaf blades mostly 2-6 cm long, 0.3-2 cm wide; plants climbing by growing through bark layers of Taxodium ascendens or Chamaecyparis thyoides

Leaf blades mostly 6-13 cm long, 3-8 cm wide; plants climbing by twining

Leaves entire.

Stems lacking prickles; tendrils either absent or (if present) not stipular and paired; [Eudicots or Basal Angiosperms].

Plant climbing by dense, reddish adventitious roots

Plant climbing by twining or by tendrils.

Plant climbing by tendrils

Plants stem-twiners.

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.

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

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

Leaves orbicular to very widely ovate or reniform, most leaves < 1.4× as long as wide; leaf blade base deeply cordate, subcordate, rounded, or broadly cuneate

Flowers fetid, showy and 4-merous; plants often with conspicuously large rootstocks apparent at ground level

Flowers scentless or only mildly fetid, either not showy (Menispermaceae) or modified into a tube-like structure with an often elaborate petaloid perianth (Aristolochiaceae); plants lacking a large, conspicuous rootstock

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

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)

Leaves compound.

Plants herbaceous; leaves palmately 3-foliolate or pedately compound

Plants woody; leaves either palmately divided or pinnately compound into > 20 segments

Leaves simple.

Leaves opposite or whorled, cauline.

Leaves opposite; flowers bilaterally symmetrical

Leaves whorled; flowers radially or bilaterally symmetrical.

Plant with 2 or more leaf-bearing nodes (all nodes whorled or some alternate).

Leaves broad, < 2× as long as wide, cordate at the base; flowers unisexual and plants dioecious

Leaves lanceolate, oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, > 4× as long as wide, cuneate at the base; flowers bisexual and plants hermaphroditic

Plant with a single leaf-bearing node.

Leaves in whorls of 3 leaves

Leaves in whorls of 5 or more leaves.

Stem floccose, wiry (and at maturity with a second smaller whorl with usually 3 leaves subtending the flowers); flowers radially symmetrical

Stem glabrous, fleshy, never with a second whorl; flowers bilaterally symmetrical

Leaves alternate, either cauline or basal.

Inflorescence a spadix (a dense spike of hundreds of flowers, the rachis thickened and somewhat fleshy) subtended by a spathe (a green, white, orange, yellowish-green, or maroon bract) (spathe missing in Orontium)

Inflorescence otherwise, a raceme, panicle, cyme, umbel, spike, etc., the flowers arrayed in a more diffuse manner, the central rachis not thickened, the inflorescence subtended or not by green or scarious spathes.

Flowers bilaterally symmetrical or asymmetrical; fertile stamens 1 or 2 (or 5 in MUSACEAE), often with several staminodes present as well; tepals 6.

Leaf venation parallel; leaves various in size and shape, if > 3 dm long, then < 1 dm wide; perianth often differentiated into a lip and 5 petaloid tepals

Leaf venation prominently penni-parallel; leaves large, at least some on a plant with blade > 2 dm long.

Fertile stamens 5-6; leaf blades 6-30 dm long

Fertile stamen 1; leaf blades 0.5-7 dm long.

Leaves spirally arranged.

Leaves lacking ligules; ovary and fruit with warty excrescences

Leaves with 2 stipule-like ligules; ovary and fruit smooth

Leaves 2-ranked.

Leaves jointed and swollen at the summit of the petiole, forming a pulvinus.

Plants terrestrial; bracts persistent; flowers white, sepals > 5 mm long; [se. FL only]

Plants aquatic (or at least in very wet soils); bracts not persistent; flowers purple; sepals ≤ 3 mm long; [more widely distributed in southeastern coastal plain, including se. FL (T. geniculata)]

Leaves neither jointed not swollen at the summit of the petiole

Flowers radially symmetrical (weakly to strongly bilaterally symmetrical in PONTEDERIACEAE); stamens 6 (rarely 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 15, or 18); tepals usually 6 (rarely 3 or 4), when 6, either undifferentiated (6 or 4 tepals) or differentiated into 3 petals and 3 sepals.

Inflorescence subtended by spathes (well-developed green or scarious bracts).

Perianth not differentiated, consisting of 6 similarly colored and shaped tepals; flowers strongly to slightly bilaterally symmetrical; inflorescence lacking well-developed spathaceous bracts

Perianth differentiated into green sepals and more brightly colored petals; flowers radially symmetrical (or weakly bilaterally symmetrical, as in some Commelina).

Ovary superior; fruit a capsule; stamens 6; [plants mainly of uplands (Murdannia and sometimes Commelina of wetlands)]

Ovary inferior; fruit a berry; stamens 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18; [plants of wetlands]

Inflorescence not subtended by spathes, though individual small green bracts sometimes subtending individual flowers.

Gynoecium of 2 or more pistils (6 in Butomus); fruit achenes or follicles; inflorescence a raceme or panicle with branching in whorls of 3 OR a bracteate umbel; [wetland plants].

Flowers consisting of white petals and green sepals, with 1-many stamens and 3-many carpels (but not consistently with 9 stamens and 6 carpels); inflorescence a raceme or panicle in whorls of 3, branched; leaf blades flat or terete

Flowers consisting of pink petals and green-pink sepals, usually with 9 stamens and 6 carpels; inflorescence an umbel; leaf blades triquetrous in cross-section

Gynoecium of 1 pistil; fruit simple, a capsule or berry; inflorescence various, terminal or axillary, but if a raceme or panicle, not with branching in whorls of 3; [upland (or very rarely wetland) plants].

Leaves basal or basally disposed.

Leaves 2 (rarely 3 in Convallaria in RUSCACEAE).

Inflorescence a raceme; fruit a berry; tepals united, the perianth urceolate

Inflorescence an umbel or a solitary flower; fruit a capsule; tepals separate or basally fused.

Flowers in an umbel, white; fresh plants with oniony odor

Flowers solitary, white or yellow; fresh plants without strong odor

Leaves 4 or more.

Inflorescence a terminal umbel; fruit a blue or black berry; tepals white or yellow; flowers bisexual

Inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle; fruit a capsule; tepals white, green, yellowish, or pink; flowers either bisexual (Helonias in HELONIADACEAE), or unisexual and primarily on different plants (dioecious) (Chamaelirium in CHIONOGRAPHIDACEAE), or a mix of bisexual and unisexual staminate flowers (Veratrum in MELANTHIACEAE)

Inflorescences bracteate, with bracts subtending individual pedicels and (if they are present) branches of the inflorescence; tepals white, greenish-white, or cream

Inflorescence ebracteate, lacking bracts subtending pedicels; flowers bisexual (Helonias) or predominantly unisexual and on different plants (dioecious) (Chamaelirium); tepals pink (Helonias) or white to cream (Chamaelirium).

Flowers white to cream; plants dioecious (individual plants either male or female, with all male flowers or all female flowers)

Flowers pink; plants hermaphroditic (individual flowers bisexual)

Leaves cauline.

Leaves both cordate/subcordate (rarely merely rounded at the base) and obviously petiolate.

Inflorescence an axillary solitary flower, a few-flowered cyme, or a panicle; fruit a capsule (winged in Dioscorea, unwinged in Croomia); axillary tendrils never present (plant not climbing, or climbing by twining).

Tepals 6; stamens 6; flowers unisexual (and generally on separate plants, therefore dioecious); inflorescence of a solitary flowers or a panicle; ovary inferior; [widespread in our area]

Tepals 4 (-5); stamens 4 (-5); flowers bisexual; ovary superior; [AL and adjacent GA, FL, and perhaps LA]

Leaves not both cordate/subcordate and petiolate (some with cordate clasping or perfoliate leaf bases).

Leaves alternate and in whorls at some nodes; flowers orange; tepals > 5 cm long; inflorescence a terminal umbel or single flower

Leaves strictly alternate (these sometimes congested apically in sterile stems of Alstroemeria); flowers yellow, white, pink, greenish, or maroon; tepals < 5 cm long; inflorescence either a terminal cluster, raceme, panicle or umbel, or an axillary raceme, cluster or solitary flower.

Leaves alternate, but in sterile stems often appearing apically congested; inflorescence a terminal umbel; flowers slightly zygomorphic, reddish, the tepals 3.5-4.5 cm long

Leaves strictly alternate; inflorescence either a terminal cluster, raceme, or panicle, or an axillary raceme, cluster or solitary flower; flowers actinomorphic, variously colored (most white or yellow), the tepals < 3.5 cm long (except Uvularia grandiflora).

Leaves arrayed spirally around an erect, unbranched stem; fruit a septicidal capsule; flowers a mixture of bisexual and unisexual (staminate) on a plant; perianth white, greenish white, or maroon.

Leaves basally disposed; leaves not at all to slightly plicate, 1-14 cm wide; tepals glabrous, 4-9 mm long, 1-3 mm wide (3-5 mm wide in M. hybridum), with either conspicuous (M. hybridum) or diffuse (M. parviflorum and M. woodii) glands; filaments fused to the basal claw of the tepal

Leaves cauline; leaves strongly plicate, 6-15 cm wide; tepals pubescent, 8-13 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, with a conspicuous pair of glands near the base of the tepal blade (these sometimes more or less fused); filaments free from the tepals

Leaves arrayed distichously (2 ranked) along an arching, unbranched or dichotomously (Y-forking) branched stem; fruit a berry or loculicidal capsule; flowers all bisexual; perianth white, pink, or yellow.

Stems of fertile and sterile individuals simple (never branched); inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle (Maianthemum) or axillary racemes or clusters of 1-9 flowers (Polygonatum); fruit a berry.

Inflorescence terminal, a raceme or panicle; tepals separate; leaves with 3 main parallel veins, acute to acuminate at the apex; foliage green, not glaucous

Inflorescence of 1-several axillary flowers; tepals fused; leaves with > 7 main parallel veins, obtuse to acute at the apex; foliage blue-green, glaucous

Stems of fertile individuals branched (always at least bifurcate), but sterile individuals in some genera characteristically unbranched; inflorescence either of 1 (-2) flower(s) borne in a leaf axil (Uvularia, Streptopus), or of (1) 2 (-3) flowers borne terminally opposite the last leaf (Prosartes); fruit a berry or capsule.

Leaves perfoliate; fruit a capsule

Leaves sessile (though sometimes slightly to strongly clasping); fruit a berry or capsule.

Stem brown, wiry, puberulent; last 2 leaves (near stem tip) on each branch approximate to one another (sometimes subopposite) and with noticeably oblique bases; flowers and fruits terminal on the branches

Stem green, not wiry, glabrous; last 2 leaves (near stem tip) on each branch no closer together than other leaves, with symmetrical bases; flowers (and fruits) either terminal on the branches or solitary and axillary to most leaves.

Flowers and fruits in single terminal clusters (sometimes appearing axillary, but still only one cluster per branch of the stem); tepals pale to rich yellow

Flowers and fruits 1 (-2) in the axils of many leaves; tepals white to pink