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Key N1: herbaceous dicots with mainly basal, compound leaves
Plantae
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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 inflorescence, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamen 5, the fruit a cypsela | |
3 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above. | |
7 Flowers radially symmetrical; fruit a 2-valved or 5-valved capsule; [plant of uplands or wetlands] | |
8 Leaflet notched at the tip; flowers pink, white, or yellow; [plants of uplands or temporarily flooded wetlands] | |
12 Fruit an aggregate of achene (borne on a fleshy, expanded receptacle in Fragaria and some Potentilla) | |
1 Leaves 1-pinnately compound (all leaflet attached to a central rachis) or more complexly compound (with several orders of branching, some leaflet at least attached to second-order branches from the rachis). | |
15 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescence, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamen 5, the fruit a cypsela | |
15 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above. | |
16 Flowers radially symmetrical; fruit a silique/silicle, or a schizocarp of mericarp, or an achene. | |
19 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescence, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamen 5, the fruit a cypsela | |
19 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head subtended by bract, but then with other features differing, such as stamen 4, or green calyx present, or petal separate, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarp, etc.). | |
26 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical; fruit an elongate capsule; [cultivated exotic, rarely persistent near gardens] | |
28 Pubescence of the stem and lower leaf surface glandular; flowers unisexual, on the same plant (monoecious); stamen 10; pistil 2, partly fused; fruit an aggregate of follicle | |
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); stamen 15 or more; pistil 1-8, separate; fruit an aggregate of follicle, a follicle, or a red or white berry. | |
29 Flowers unisexual (plants dioecious); carpel 3-4 per pistillate flower; inflorescence a panicle of raceme, with numerous branches; fruit an aggregate of follicle |
Key N2: herbaceous dicots with mainly basal, simple leaves
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1 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescence, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamen 5, the fruit a cypsela | |
1 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above (sometimes the flowers in a head subtended by bract, e.g. Eryngium in APIACEAE, but then with other features differing, such as stamen 4, or green calyx present, or petal separate, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarp, etc.). | |
2 Basal leaves 2-lobed, pinnately lobed, or palmately lobed (not considering cordate, hastate, or auriculate leaf base as “lobed”). | |
4 Leaf lobing pinnate. | |
4 Leaf lobing palmate. | |
18 Leaves 2, the single flower terminal and associated with the upper leaf; fruit an aggregate of berries | |
19 Hypanthium present, partially fused or not fused to the pistil; ovary partially inferior to superior | |
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 tepal. | |
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 sepal and petal (except uniseriate, of 3 fused sepal in ARISTOLOCHIACEAE). | |
26 Flowers radially symmetrical; inflorescence either of a solitary flower or of a 1-7-flowered terminal cyme; petal 5, 8-12, or 0; sepal 5 (green), 3 (brown), or 5-9 (yellow); stamen 5, 12, or many. | |
27 Gynoecium either of a single pistil with 6 carpel or of a single pistil with 4 carpel or of 2 nearly separate carpel; fruit a simple capsule (or deeply 2-lobed); flowers white, brown, or greenish, either of 5 fused or distinct white petal and 5 fused or distinct green sepal, or of 3 fused brown or greenish petaloid sepal. | |
35 Flowers radially symmetrical; inflorescence an umbel (or composite of umbelliform units, or a terminal panicle. | |
36 Ovary inferior; inflorescence an umbel (or a composite of umbellate units); fruit a schizocarp of mericarp. | |
40 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) | |
40 Leaves flat, not sutured into a tubular shape. | |
44 Corolla yellow, the upper lip often slightly to strongly maroon, hooded but the corolla lobe twisted so as to make the flower asymmetrical | |
44 Corolla white, lavender, or blue, 2-lipped and bilaterally symmetrical. | |
51 Stamen 6-8 or 10. | |
51 Stamen 2 or 4. | |
54 Stamen 4. | |
65 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. | |
66 Leaves serrate or crenate; stamen 10; [plants of various habitats, especially rock outcrops and bottomland forests and streambanks, never in tidal marsh] | |
67 Inflorescence of a single, terminal raceme, the plant unbranched; stamen 10 (or 5, with 5 staminode) | |
Key O: herbaceous dicots with alternate, compound leaves on the stem
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2 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescence, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamen 5, the fruit a cypsela | |
2 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above. | |
1 Leaves either 1-pinnately compound (all leaflet attached to a central rachis) or more complexly compound (with several orders of branching, some leaflet 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 inflorescence; fruit a cypsela; ovary inferior | |
12 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical, papilionaceous; fruit a legume; leaves even-pinnately or odd-pinnately compound, the terminal leaflet sometimes replaced by a tendril; leaflet entire or at most minutely denticulate | |
12 Flowers radially symmetrical (or barely bilaterally symmetrical in Erodium in GERANIACEAE); fruit a capsule, capsular but of 5 mericarp, or an aggregate of achene, nutlet, or follicle (in some cases the # of pistil from many down to 2 or even 1); leaves odd-pinnately compound, never with tendril; leaflet serrate (or entire to shallowly lobed in Polemonium in POLEMONIACEAE, Cardamine in BRASSICACEAE, and Floerkea in LIMNANTHACEAE). | |
13 Pistil 1 (or deeply 2-3-lobed in Floerkea in LIMNANTHACEAE); fruit a silique, capsule, schizocarp of 2-3 mericarp, or a capsular schizocarp of 5 mericarp (Erodium in GERANIACEAE); hypanthium absent; stamen 3-6. | |
14 Petal 4-5. | |
15 Petal 5, fused (distinct in Erodium in GERANIACEAE); stamen 5; inflorescence axillary or terminal, cymose, consisting of subcapitate, umbel-like, or helicoid cyme; fruit either a capsule, or a capsular schizocarp of 5 mericarp (Erodium in GERANIACEAE). | |
17 Fruit a capsule; fresh plant not aromatic. | |
19 Leaves either 2× odd-pinnate or more complexly 2-4× ternately or ternately-pinnately compound; flowers in various inflorescence; fruits various (not legume or loment). | |
25 Inflorescence an umbel; ovary inferior, of 2 fused carpel; fruit a schizocarp of 2 mericarp; inflorescence an umbel | |
25 Inflorescence a panicle or raceme; ovary superior, of 1-8 carpel; fruit an aggregate of follicle, a single follicle, or an indehiscent berry-like fruit. | |
27 Inflorescence a raceme, panicle, or cyme; ovary superior, of either 1-2 fused carpel or of many separate 1-carpellate pistil. | |
Key P1: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and unlobed leaves on the stem
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1 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescence, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamen 5, the fruit a cypsela | |
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 stamen 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarp, etc.). | |
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 gland, these sometimes brightly colored and petaloid, mimicking an individual flower (the cyathia then secondarily arranged in terminal cyme, or solitary and axillary, etc.); fresh plants with milky juice; fruit a 3-lobed, 3-locular capsule | |
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. | |
5 Leaf teeth rounded to subacute, resembling shallow lobe, irregular, few (mostly < 6 per leaf side). | |
6 Fruit a 3-lobed, circumscissilely dehiscent capsule; [plants native of rich moist shaded forests or exotic in suburban woodlands] | |
8 Flowers cyathia, not merely bearing showy tepal; leaf not variegated but sometimes bearing darkened red or black splotches; fruit capsule, but these not conspicuously winged; [natives and non-natives, usually not ornamental] | |
11 Ovary inferior (flowers epigynous, the ovary sitting below the perianth and androecium) or half-inferior (perigynous, the ovary sitting level with the remaining floral parts). | |
15 Inflorescence a leaf-opposed spike or raceme, the inflorescence arising opposite of stem leaves (except Saururus, whose spikelike raceme are leaf-opposed and/or terminal); flowers visually white from white petaloid sepal, white bract, or white stamen. | |
16 Sepal absent; carpel 3-4; stamen 2-6 (-8); fruit a capsule, a 1-seeded drupe, or a schizocarp of 3-4 mericarp; leaf base cordate or subcordate; [Basal Angiosperm]. | |
15 Inflorescence not leaf opposed, instead arising with stem leaves (axillary) or terminal, the inflorescence not spike nor raceme, instead either simpler (single axillary or glomerule of flowers) or more complexly branched (terminal or axilary panicle or terminal complex cyme); flowers white, reddish, scarious, or greenish. | |
27 Inflorescence not a dense, leaf-opposed spike, instead a terminal head or variously axillary or terminal (the flowers solitary or not, but not in a dense spike). | |
28 Flowers yellow; stamen numerous (15+), monomorphic or heteromorphic (inner and outer of differing length), conspicuously exerted from the flowers, often surpassing the ovary; leaves basally lobed or unlobed (often a mix in M. floridana and M. oligosperma) | |
28 Flowers blue or white; stamen fewer (usually < 10), monomorphic, if exerted, the ovary usually still apparent; leaves unlobed. | |
26 Petal distinct. | |
31 Petal 4-7; stamen 1× or 2× as many as the petal, 4-7, 8, 10, 12, or14; leaves herbaceous in texture | |
35 Stamen distinct. | |
34 Stamen 4-5, less than or the same as the number (5) of the petal; fruit a 2-5-carpellate capsule. | |
38 Pistil 5-carpellate; capsule 5-locular, explosively dehiscent; inflorescence of axillary, small clusters of flowers | |
38 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). | |
40 Stamen 5; corolla not spurred; capsule septicidal; pubescence of the stem and leaves either gland-tipped or dendritically branched | |
40 Stamen 4; corolla with a distinct spur or sac at the base between the the 2 lower calyx lobe (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. | |
32 Corolla radially symmetrical (actinomorphic), petal connate or distinct; fruit various (including capsule). | |
42 Plants herbaceous vine, fleshy and mucilaginous, the leaves variously orbicular, ovate, cordate or sometimes elliptic; fruit utricle (small sac surrounding an achene), partly to completely enclosed in the persistent, dry to somewhat fleshy perianth; sepal 2 | |
42 Plants not herbaceous vine, the leaves variously shaped; fruit various, but never utricle; sepal 4 or more. | |
46 Fruit an aggregate of follicle; leaves fleshy in texture; inflorescence; leaves entire of sparsely and coarsely serrate, with < 12 points per leaf; [plants primarily of dry habitats] | |
51 Flowers 5-merous (the petal and sepal 5, stamen 5 or various multiples of 5); corolla white, yellow, reddish (including pinkish), or blue; fruit a loculicidal or septicidal capsule. | |
52 Stamen 5 ; corolla yellow or blue; capsule either 10-locular and septicidal (Linum) or 1-locular (with 3 carpel) and loculicidal. | |
53 Capsule 1-locular (with 3 carpel) and loculicidal (splitting along outer edges, not only at the top) | |
52 Stamen (4-) 10, 15, 20, 30 (-many); corolla white, pink, yellow, or reddish; capsule 2-, 3-, 5- (-10)-locular, loculicidal. | |
43 Petal fused (flowers sympetalous, this includes salverform and tubular flowers); stamen (4-) 5 (-7). | |
56 Plants herbaceous vine, fleshy and mucilaginous, the leaves variously orbicular, ovate, cordate or sometimes elliptic; fruit utricle (small sac surrounding an achene), partly to completely enclosed in the persistent, dry to somewhat fleshy perianth; sepal 2 | |
56 Plants not with the above combination of characters, if herbaceous vine then fruit not utricle and sepal 4 or more. | |
57 Pistil 2, united only by the style and stigma; fruit a schizocarp of 2 follicle (often single by abortion); plant with milky juice when fresh; leaves entire; inflorescence an umbel | |
57 Pistil 1 (of 2 or 3 fused carpel); fruit a capsule, drupe, or a schizocarp splitting into 4 nutlet; plant lacking milky juice; leaves entire or serrate; inflorescence various (but not an umbel). | |
58 Ovary slightly to deeply 2-4-lobed (entire or shallowly lobed in Tiquilia and HELIOTROPIACEAE); fruit a schizocarp of 4 mericarp or a drupe; [BORAGINALES]. | |
60 Style gynobasic (originating from the base of the ovary's lobe); ovary slightly to deeply lobed; fruit a schizocarp of 4 mericarp | |
61 Plants usually strongly gray or white-colored and villous, growing in short, suffrutescent mounds or mats; leaves densely pubescent (hair densely appressed adaxially, tomentose abaxially); inflorescence of solitary flowers or extra-axillary, never scirpioid; corolla lavender or whitish-lavender, the lobe 1.8-3.0 (-4.5) mm long, broadly rounded; [s. TX, westward; primarily of the Trans-Pecos region] | |
61 Plants variously glabrous or pubescent (sometimes villous), usually herbaceous, occasionally suffrutescent and mound or mat-forming; inflorescence variously elongate or racemose, often scirpioid (curved or coiled on one side of the inflorescence axis; e.g., Heliotropium), occasionally solitary (e.g., Euploca, in part; although in this case the leaves of the shrubby Euploca are significantly narrower); corolla variously colored (including lavender); [plants collectively widespread, including TX] | |
63 Plant an herb, erect or sprawling; leaves > 1.5 cm long. | |
66 Inflorescence (solitary or of several flowers) terminal on the stem. | |
67 Calyces not as above, flowers typically campanulate (not salverform), if tubular then not also 5-ribbed and capitate-glandular. | |
70 Flowers either solitary and obviously pedicelled, or several in an axillary or lateral inflorescence. | |
72 Calyces not as above, flowers typically campanulate (not salverform), if tubular then not also 5-ribbed and capitate-glandular. | |
73 Corolla lobe 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). | |
Key P3: herbaceous dicots with alternate, simple, and pinnately lobed leaves on the stem
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1 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescence, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamen 5, the fruit a cypsela | |
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, or the fruit a cypsela in Cevallia in LOASACEAE, but then with other features differing, such as stamen 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarp, etc.). | |
2 Perianth uniseriate, with only undifferentiated tepal; flowers many and small, greenish or brownish, inconspicuous individually; inflorescence of glomerule that are usually further aggregated into raceme or panicle; fruit an achene or utricle | |
2 Perianth biseriate, both sepal and petal present and differentiated (except uniseriate and of 2 white to cream-colored sepal 5-10 mm long in Macleaya in PAPAVERACEAE); flowers larger, usually with the petal prominently colored; inflorescence various, but not as above; fruit a capsule, silique/silicle, or a schizocarp of 2 mericarp. | |
3 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical and the petal connate into a tube (or the corolla 2-lipped but the corolla lobe twisted so as to make the flower asymmetrical); stamen 4; fruit a 2-locular and loculicidal capsule opening by 2 valve | |
3 Corolla radially symmetrical and either connate into a tube or distinct (except Reseda in RESEDACEAE, with bilateral symmetry but separate petal); stamen 5 or more; fruit a silique/silicle, a schizocarp of 4 mericarp, 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 mericarp (Eryngium), a 4-loculicidal (Oenothera) or apically dehiscent (Mentzelia) capsule with a persistent perianth (Mentzelia), or a cypsela (Cevallia). | |
6 Flowers solitary or in dichasia (Mentzelia) or if headlike, then plants with abundant trichome, flowers yellow and fruit a cypsela with a persistent perianth (Cevallia); [LOASACEAE] | |
7 Stamen 5; fruits indehiscent (a cypsela with a persistent perianth), bearing one seed each; plants with four trichome types (knobbed, retrorse, dendritic, and stinging), these sometimes but not always all present on the same plant. | |
11 Plant an erect or sprawling herb. | |