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Support the Flora of the Southeastern US

2024 has been a banner year for making the best flora we can imagine. We've created:
With financial support from people like you, we are aiming even higher in 2025. Together we can accomplish all this: Vote on our 2025 priorities
  • Add Global Conservation Ranks (GRanks) vote
  • Professional graphic keys (polyclaves) to individual families/genera vote
  • 2 new FloraQuest apps: Florida & Mid-South vote
  • Image overlays highlighting diagnostic characters with arrows vote
  • iNaturalist integration in FloraQuest vote
Write-in vote: vote
We've set a goal of recruiting 200 ongoing supporters to donate $15 or more each month in 2025. Please help us reach this goal and make next year's flora even better:
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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 to Taxaceae

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1 Leaf apex acuminate, extended into a stiff, pungent spine; midvein not obviously raised on the upper leaf surface, that surface convex-curved; stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface narrow, greenish gray, together making up about 1/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 25-35 mm long, dark-green and also longitudinally striped with paler green, tan, or purple, the leathery exterior fully enclosing the seed
1 Leaf apex acute, but not stiff, pungent, or spinose; midvein obviously raised (use 10× magnification) on the upper surface, that surface flat or nearly so, except for the revolute margins; stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface medium to broad, white or whitish-green, together making up about 1/2 or 3/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' either 4-7 mm long, red or orange when ripe, with a softly fleshy exterior open at the top (the seed) visible, or 18-25 mm long, brown, brown or brownish-orange and not striped, the fleshy exterior fully enclosing the seed.
  2 Stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface broad, white, together making up about 3/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 18-25 mm long, brown, brown or brownish-orange and not striped, the fleshy exterior fully enclosing the seed; leaf resin canal present, below the vascular tissue (break leaf and use 10× magnification); drupe-like 'fruits' clustered on peduncles
  2 Stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface medium, whitish-green, together making up about 1/2 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 4-7 mm long, red or orange when ripe, with a softly fleshy exterior open at the top (the seed) visible; leaf resin canal absent; drupe-like 'fruits' solitary, sessile or nearly so

Key B3: gymnosperm trees and shrubs with scale or needle leaves

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1 Leaves opposite or in whorls of 3.
  2 Longest internodes 2-10 cm long; stems green, Equisetum-like
  2 Longest internodes < 1 cm long; stems green, brown, or tan, not resembling Equisetum.
    3 Leaves scale-like or acicular and <16 mm long; mature cones either dry and cone-like, or fleshy and < 12 mm in diameter
    3 Leaves linear, 15-45 mm long; mature female “cones” fleshy and drupe-like, > 15 mm in diameter
      4 Leaf apex acute, but not stiff, pungent, or spinose; midvein obviously raised (use 10× magnification) on the upper surface, that surface flat or nearly so, except for the revolute margins; stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface broad, white, together making up about 3/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 18-25 mm long, brown, brown or brownish-orange and not striped
      4 Leaf apex acuminate, extended into a stiff, pungent spine; midvein not obviously raised on the upper leaf surface, that surface convex-curved; stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface narrow, greenish gray, together making up about 1/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 25-35 mm long, dark-green and also longitudinally striped with paler green, tan, or purple
1 Leaves either alternate, or in fascicles of 2-5 (basally bound by a scarious sheath), or on short shoots in clusters of many 10-60 leaves in apparent whorls.
        5 Leaves either borne in fascicles of 2-5 (basally bound by a scarious sheath) (Pinus) or on short shoots in clusters of many leaves in apparent whorls (Cedrus, Larix)
        5 Leaves alternate.
          6 Leaves 4-angled in cross-section.
             7 Twigs brown or tan
          6 Leaves distinctly flattened (2-sided) in cross-section.
               8 Leaves (fresh) very soft in texture, seasonally deciduous as twiglets; [primarily Coastal Plain]
               8 Leaves (fresh) stiffer in texture, evergreen; [collectively more widespread].
                 9 Leaves with parallel margins for most of their length, or widest near middle and gradually tapering to base and apex, the apex acute, obtuse, or retuse.
                   10Cone” fleshy, red or purplish at maturity
                     11 Seed surrounded by a fleshy scale, appearing drupe-like, this also subtended by a swollen and fleshy receptacle
                     11 Seed partially or fully enclosed in a fleshy aril, the subtending receptacle neither swollen nor fleshy
                       12 Leaf apex acuminate, extended into a stiff, pungent spine; midvein not obviously raised on the upper leaf surface, that surface convex-curved; stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface narrow, greenish gray, together making up about 1/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 25-35 mm long, dark-green and also longitudinally striped with paler green, tan, or purple, the leathery exterior fully enclosing the seed
                       12 Leaf apex acute, but not stiff, pungent, or spinose; midvein obviously raised (use 10× magnification) on the upper surface, that surface flat or nearly so, except for the revolute margins; stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface medium to broad, white or whitish-green, together making up about 1/2 or 3/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' either 4-7 mm long, red or orange when ripe, with a softly fleshy exterior open at the top (the seed) visible, or 18-25 mm long, brown, brown or brownish-orange and not striped, the fleshy exterior fully enclosing the seed.
                          13 Stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface broad, white, together making up about 3/4 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 18-25 mm long, brown, brown or brownish-orange and not striped, the fleshy exterior fully enclosing the seed; leaf resin canal present, below the vascular tissue (break leaf and use 10× magnification); drupe-like 'fruits' clustered on peduncles
                          13 Stomatal bands on the leaf undersurface medium, whitish-green, together making up about 1/2 of the width of the leaf; drupe-like 'fruit' 4-7 mm long, red or orange when ripe, with a softly fleshy exterior open at the top (the seed) visible; leaf resin canal absent; drupe-like 'fruits' solitary, sessile or nearly so