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Key to Asteraceae, Key I: Herbaceous composites with the leaves alternate, the heads lacking rays, and with a pappus wholly or partly of scales or awns
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1 Disc flowers yellow, orange, red, or brownish. | |
4 Receptacle epaleate. | |
1 Disc flowers pink, purple, or white | |
8 Receptacle epaleate. | |
9 Disc flowers 1-5 (rarely more) per head. | |
10 Disc flowers white (rarely cream), 3; heads not aggregated into a secondary cluster subtended by bracts; [se. TX] | |
10 Disc flowers lavender to purple, sometimes so lightly so as to be white, 1-4 (-5+); heads aggregated into clusters of 1-40 heads, subtended by 1-3 bracts; [collectively widespread in our region] | |
11 Heads (1-) 10-40 per secondary cluster, borne in corymbiform arrays; bracts subtending clusters (2-) 3, deltate; pappus of 5 (-6) scales, each aristate | |
9 Disc flowers (2-) 10-100+ per head (at least most heads with >10 flowers). | |
12 Phyllaries 5-15 (-21) in 1-2 (-3) series. | |
12 Phyllaries 18-many in 5+ series. | |
15 Heads discoid, all flowers similar | |
14 Phyllary tips not so modified, unarmed and unelaborate; receptacle epaleate and naked; [tribe Vernonieae]. | |
18 Peripheral flowers of the heads enlarged and bilaterally symmetrical, appearing like "false rays" | |
19 Perennials; cypselas 8-10-ribbed. | |
20 Heads not subtended by leafy bracts; pappus of an inner series of scales or bristles and an outer series of bristles, persistent |
Key to Asteraceae, Key N: Herbaceous composites with the leaves alternate or basal and the heads radiate, the rays white, pink, purple, and the pappus absent or essentially so
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1 Receptacles paleate (with chaff); [tribe Heliantheae]. | |
2 Stems usually winged; leaves simple or pinnately to palmately lobed; disc florets concolorous (of similar color) with ray florets | |
1 Receptacles epaleate (lacking chaff). | |
5 Receptacles flat or broadly conic, not conspicuously pitted; heads in corymbiform arrays; pappus a short crown; rays white, pink, or purple adaxially; [widespread non-natives, tribe Anthemideae] | |
5 Receptacles conic, pitted; heads borne singly (Aphanostephus) or in loose corymbiform arrays (Egletes); rays white adaxially; [natives primarily w. of MS river; tribe Astereae]. | |
7 Plants 1-3 cm tall, densely pin-cushioned (pulvinate); flowering heads sessile, borne singly, conspicuously nestled within the rosette leaves and proportionately of similar size; pappus persistent, of 12-35+ setiform scales in 1 series; phyllaries in 4-6+ series | |
7 Plants of various size, but not densely pin-cushioned; flowering heads borne on stems, if peduncles short the heads not conspicuously nestled within similar-sized leaf rosettes; pappus various, phyllaries in 2-6 series. | |
8 Pappus of 5-40+ longer inner bristles plus shorter outer scales or setae (these sometimes falling); stems and leaves often (but not always) stipitate-glandular. | |
9 Inner barbellate bristles numerous (5-40+); stems and leaves usually glandular; plants tap-rooted, fibrous-rooted, or stoloniferous; annuals, biennials, or perennials | |
9 Inner bristles barbellate or thicker, fewer (ca. 5); stems and leaves glandular (C. asteroides) or eglandular (C. asteroides; C. belliloides); plants tap-rooted annuals | |
8 Pappus primarily of awns, scales, crowns, or thickened rings (these minute, 0.1-0.8 mm long), sometimes also accompanied by shorter inner scales or bristles; stems and leaves eglandular (sometimes minutely glandular in Chaetopappa bellidifolia). | |
Key to Asteraceae, old Key J: Herbaceous composites with the leaves alternate or basal and the heads radiate, the rays white, pink, purple
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1 Receptacles chaffy (paleate). | |
1 Receptacles naked (epaleate). | |
11 Taprooted annuals; ray florets 1-7 mm long. | |
11 Not taprooted and mostly perennials; ray florets > 3 mm long. | |
13 Ray florets usually < 60; blooming late May-Nov. | |
14 Receptacles hemispheric to conic; pappus often with 2-4 awns (Boltonia) or lacking awns and coroniform (Astranthium). | |
15 Achenes not narrowly winged, the surfaces minutely glandular-glochidiate (bearing small gland-like bristles) | |
21 Pappus double, with inner bristles distinctly longer than outer bristles. | |
21 Pappus simple with all bristles often about the same length. | |
24 Ray florets white or pink to blue or purple; involucres 7-12 mm long; phyllaries usually > 1 mm wide. | |