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Key to Ericaceae

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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 united; fruit nodding, a berry; flower and fruit several per stem
    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
      4 Flower solitary; stem glabrous; plant white (rarely pink) when fresh, aging or drying black
  2 Plants with chlorophyll (hemi-mycotrophic or autotrophic); stems woody; leaves present and well-developed, green; pollen grains in tetrads (single in Orthilia).
        5 Herb with a rosette of ascending basal leaves; flowers scapose; [subfamily Monotropoideae; tribe Pyroleae].
          6 Style and filaments straight; filaments straight, the anthers closely surrounding the style; inflorescence distinctly secund (1-sided)
          6 Style and filaments strongly declined; filaments curved, the anthers not closely surrounding the style; inflorescence slightly or not at all secund (1-sided)
        5 Subshrub or sprawling shrub with cauline leaves; flowers axillary (except scapose in Chimaphila).
             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]
               8 Leaves obovate, 1-2× as long as wide; fruit a red berry, borne on nodding axillary pedicels beneath the leaves; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Gaultherieae]
             7 Plant creeping or sprawling, leaves scattered along the stems.
                 9 Flowers solitary and axillary; fruit a white berry; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Gaultherieae]
                 9 Flowers in axillary or terminal spikes or racemes; fruit a fleshy loculicidal capsule or red drupe.
                   10 Leaves glabrous, 1-3 cm long, tapered to the base; corolla urceolate; calyx not subtended by large bracts; [subfamily Arbutoideae]
                   10 Leaves pilose (glabrate in age), 2-10 cm long, rounded or subcordate at the base; corolla salverform, the lobes spreading; calyx subtended by 2 large bracts; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Phyllodoceae]
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]
                       12 Leaves 5-15 mm long; shrubs 5-25 dm tall; drupes yellow or reddish, 1.5-3 mm in diameter; [of SC southward]
                       12 Leaves 3-6 mm long; shrubs 1.5-6 dm tall; drupes gray, 1-1.5 mm in diameter; [of NJ northward]
                     11 Leaves either > 2 mm wide or < 5 mm long, mostly alternate or whorled; petals present; fruit not as above, mostly either a capsule or 10- or many-seeded berry; branches appearing alternate or whorled; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Vaccinieae].
                          13 Ovary inferior; fruit indehiscent, a fleshy berry; [blueberries and huckleberries].
                            14 Ovary 10 locular; seeds 10; leaves glandular-punctate, at least on the lower surface (except G. brachycera)
                            14 Ovary 4-5 locular; seeds numerous; leaves not glandular-punctate
                          13 Ovary superior; fruit dehiscent, a dry capsule; [other heaths].
                              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
                                  17 Fruit 4-5-locular; leaves deciduous, 4-12 cm long; petals 12-14 mm long; shrub to small tree 2-6 (-9) m tall
                              15 Petals fused for part or all their lengths; fruit (4-) 5-locular; shrub or tree with leaves of various shape, evergreen or deciduous, these either < 6 mm long, linear and whorled, or > 12 mm long.
                                    18 Leaves opposite or whorled, < 5 mm long, linear; [subfamily Ericoideae, tribe Ericeae]
                                       19 Leaves opposite, sessile, clasping at the base
                                       19 Leaves whorled (in 4s), petiolate
                                    18 Leaves alternate or whorled, > 20 mm long.
                                         20 Flowers 4-merous; fruits 4-locular; leaves with a series of fascicles of trichomes on the midrib below; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Rhodoreae]
                                         20 Flowers 5-merous; fruits 5-locular; leaves not as above.
                                           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]
                                               23 Pedicels stout, 2-6 mm long; filaments straight; pith solid; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Gaultherieae]
                                             22 Leaves entire, or obscurely and finely crenulate-serrulate.
                                                 24 Capsules elongate, > 2× as long as broad, 8-18 mm long; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Rhodoreae]
                                                 24 Capsules ovoid to globose or subglobose, about as long as broad, 5-8 mm long.
                                                    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.
                                                      26 Corolla saucer-shaped, 10-30 mm across; leaves entire; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Phyllodoceae]
                                                      26 Corolla narrowly urceolate, 4-6 mm across; leaves finely crenulate-serrulate; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Lyonieae]
                                                        27 Flower stalks with 2 opposite or subopposite subulate bractlets a little below the calyx; leaves glabrous below or short-pubescent on the midvein
                                                        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 elongate, > 2× as long as broad, 7-23 mm long; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Rhodoreae]
                                                          28 Capsules ovoid to globose or subglobose, about as long as broad, or broader than long, 2-7 mm long.
                                                            29 Leaves (at least the larger) > 2.5 cm wide.
                                                              30 Pedicels with 2 bracteoles.
                                                                 31 Capsule broader than long; shrub; bracteoles just below the calyx; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Gaultherieae]
                                                                 31 Capsule longer than broad; tree; bracteoles generally near the middle of the pedicel; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Oxydendreae]
                                                              30 Pedicels without bracteoles.
                                                                   32 Leaves entire to minutely serrulate; capsule sutures pale and thickened; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Lyonieae]
                                                                   32 Leaves crenate; capsule sutures not thickened and pale; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Andromedeae]
                                                            29 Leaves < 2.5 cm wide.
                                                                     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.
                                                                       34 Leaves whorled or alternate; corolla saucer-shaped, 10-20 mm across; [subfamily Ericoideae; tribe Phyllodoceae]
                                                                       34 Leaves alternate; corolla narrowly urceolate, 2-8 mm across.
                                                                         35 Pedicels with 2 bracteoles near the summit; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Gaultherieae]
                                                                         35 Pedicels with 2 bracteoles near the base; [subfamily Vaccinioideae; tribe Lyonieae]

Key to Kalmia

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1 Petals separate; stamens uninvolved with the corolla; fruit 2-3 (-7)-locular
1 Petals fused; stamens spring-loaded, the anthers initially in pockets of the corolla; fruit 5-locular.
  2 Leaves whorled or opposite; inflorescence either an axillary raceme or a terminal corymbiform raceme.
    3 Leaves opposite, 1-4 cm long, subsessile; inflorescence a terminal corymbiform raceme
    3 Leaves whorled in 3s (rarely opposite), 2-5 cm long, the petioles 4-12 mm long; inflorescence an axillary raceme.
      4 Calyx lobes glandular-canescent and with marginal stipitate glands; leaves glabrous beneath; bracts and bracteoles densely glandular; stomates 18 μ long and 13 μ wide, 15-24 per 0.2 square millimeter; shrub to 1 (-1.2) m tall; [of ne. NC northward]
      4 Calyx lobes canescent but lacking glands; leaves short puberulent beneath; bracts and bracteoles nearly glandless; stomates 13 μ long and 9 μ wide, 35-51 per 0.2 square millimeter; shrub to 2 m tall (though often much shorter when growing in burned situations); [of se. and sw. VA southward]
  2 Leaves alternate; inflorescence an axillary fascicle or a terminal panicle.
        5 Leaves 0.5-1.5 cm long, 2-8 mm wide; twigs densely persistently hispid; [of the Coastal Plain of s. SC southward]
        5 Leaves 2.5-12 cm long, 7-50 mm wide; twigs glabrous or puberulent (glabrescent in age); [collectively widespread in our area].
          6 Leaves deciduous, dull, and subcoriaceous, 1.5-3 cm wide; inflorescence a fascicle of 1-3 flowers, axillary to leaf scars near the tips of the previous year's growth; petiole 1-4 mm long; [of the Coastal Plain of NC and SC]
          6 Leaves evergreen, glossy, and coriaceous, (1) 3-5 cm wide; inflorescence a terminal panicle; petiole 7-45 mm long; [widespread]

Key J4: shrubs and subshrubs with opposite simple leaves with entire margins

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1 Aerial and epiphytic, hemiparasitic shrub
1 Terrestrial, autotrophic or hemiparasitic shrub or subshrub.
  2 Leaves succulent, nearly as thick as wide; [brackish to saline situations]
  2 Leaves herbaceous (succulent in Borrichia), much wider than thick; [various habitats].
    3 Creeping or short subshrubs, the stems primarily prostrate, < 2 dm tall.
      4 Well-developed leaves 4-6 per stem; inflorescence a head subtended by 4 large white bracts
      4 Well-developed leaves many per stem; inflorescence of individual flowers axillary in pairs or clusters or in terminal cymes.
        5 Flowers yellow; leaves with pellucid or dark punctate glands (use at least 10× magnification)
        5 Flowers white, pale pink, or deep pink; leaves lacking sessile, punctate glands.
          6 Leaves linear; flowers pale to deep pink, 5-merous
          6 Leaves orbicular or elliptic; flowers white to pale pink, 4-merous or 5-merous
             7 Leaves orbicular; flowers 4-merous; fruit a red berry
    3 Upright or scrambling shrubs, > 3 dm tall
               8 Scrambling shrubs, armed with recurved paired spines at the nodes
               8 Upright shrubs, unarmed.
                 9 Inflorescence a terminal head of many flowers.
                   10 Head spherical, lacking an involucre of conspicuous bracts or phyllaries
                   10 Head flattened, either subtended by 4 large white bracts or by an involucre with >5 green phyllaries.
                     11 Head subtended by 4 large white bracts; leaves with prominently parallel-arcing secondary veins; flowers 4-merous
                     11 Head subtended by an involucre of >5 green phyllaries; leaves with venation otherwise; flowers 5-merous
                 9 Inflorescence otherwise, either of a solitary flower, or one of a wide variety of inflorescences with flowers attached at different points along branched or unbranched axes (e.g. axillary). {add: [Lagerstroemia] LYTHRACEAE; [Rosmarinus] LAMIACEAE; [Laguncularia] COMBRETACEAE; [Buxus] BUXACEAE; [Exochorda] ROSACEAE; various other [see spreadsheet]}
                       12 Inflorescence flat-topped (broader than long), terminal, a compound cyme or corymb.
                          13 Flowers bright yellow; stamens many; leaves < 1.5 cm wide; fruit a capsule; leaves with pellucid or dark punctate glands (use at least 10× magnification)
                          13 Flowers white or creamy; stamens 4-5; leaves > 1.5 cm wide; fruit a drupe; leaves lacking sessile, punctate glands.
                            14 Petals 5; foliage with simple hairs
                            14 Petals 4; foliage with T-shaped hairs
                       12 Inflorescence either terminal and not flat-topped (longer than wide), or axillary and variously shaped, or terminal and solitary, or leaf-opposed.
                              15 Carpels many (> 9), either separate or fused; stamens many; perianth segments either many and undifferentiated into calyx and corolla, maroon, brown, or yellow (in CALYCANTHACEAE), or differentiated into a fleshy and persistent calyx of 5-9 sepals, and a deciduous corolla of 5-9 red (or white) petals (Punica in LYTHRACEAE).
                                16 Fruit a wrinkled, 3-7 cm long, brown to black, elliptical aggregate of nearly spherical, large achenes; flowers solitary in axils; perianth segments many and undifferentiated into calyx and corolla, maroon, brown, or yellowish; ovary superior; branches unarmed
                                16 Fruit a leathery, 4-15 cm in diameter, reddish, spherical berry with obpyramidal seeds surrounded by a juicy sarcotesta (pomegranate); perianth differentiated, the sepals fleshy and persistent on the fruit, the petals deciduous, 5-9, bright red to white; ovary inferior; branches typically armed with axillary spines
                              15 Carpels 1-5, fused; stamens either 1-5 or 8-10; perianth segments 4-5 or 8, variously colored; fruit a simple capsule, drupe, or berry (including berry-like fruit); flowers 2-many, in axillary or terminal inflorescences (pistillate flowers sometimes solitary in SANTALACEAE and THESIACEAE); [Eudicots].
                                  17 Ovary inferior; corolla absent, radially symmetrical, or bilaterally symmetrical; fruit either a berry or a 1-seeded drupe.
                                    18 Flowers unisexual and plants dioecious; corolla absent; pistillate flowers solitary, staminate flowers in pedunculate umbels or cymes, either terminal or axillary; fruit a 1-seeded drupe; leaves acute to acuminate at the apex
                                       19 Inflorescences terminal
                                       19 Inflorescences axillary
                                    18 Flowers bisexual and plants hermaphroditic; corolla present; flowers paired, terminal or axillary, or in axillary spikes; fruit a berry; leaves rounded, obtuse, to acute (or acuminate in Lonicera maackii) at the apex
                                  17 Ovary superior; corolla radially symmetrical (absent in Forestiera in OLEACEAE); fruit either a 1-4-seeded drupe, or a many-seeded berry (or berry-like fruit), or a capsule.
                                         20 Leaves with a conspicuous mix of silvery stellate hairs (upper) and rusty colored scales (lower); ovaries bearing rusty colored scales; flowers small, yellowish and inconspicuous; [nw. PA northward]
                                         20 Leaves glabrous or nearly so, lacking a conspicuous mix of stellate hairs adaxially and rusty scales abaxially; ovaries not bearing rusty colored scales; flowers of various size and color.
                                           21 Stamens 8-10, of 2 different lengths in each flower; petals separate, 4-5 (-7), pink purple, 10-15 mm long; stems strongly arching, rooting at the tips; [plants of flooded to saturated wetlands]
                                           21 Stamens either (1-) 2 (-4), or 4-5, or 10, all of the same length; petals fused (separate in RHAMNACEAE and BUXACEAE, but then < 5 mm long and white or cream), white, bright-yellow, lilac, or pink; stems erect (or at least not arching and rooting at the tips); [plants of various habitats].
                                             22 Petals separate, 4-5, white or cream; stamens 4-5.
                                               23 Fruit a loculicidal capsule, dehiscing into 3 valves; branches square in ×-section; leaves < 2 cm long; [exotic, cultivated and weakly established, of temperate areas]
                                               23 Fruit a drupe with 2-4 pyrenes; branches round or nearly so in ×-section; leaves > 2 cm long; [natives, of peninsular FL]
                                             22 Petals fused, 4-5, white, bright yellow, lilac, or pink; stamens either (1-) 2 (-4) or 10; fruit either a capsule or a 1-seeded drupe.
                                                 24 Perianth 5-merous; corolla pink; stamens 10; fruit a 5-locular capsule
                                                 24 Perianth 4-merous; corolla white, bright yellow, or lilac; stamens (1-) 2 (-4); fruit either a 1-seeded drupe or a 2-locular capsule
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