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Key G4: shrubs and subshrubs with alternate, simple, unlobed, entire leaves

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1 Leaves evergreen. {add to 1a: Scaevola in GOODENIACEAE, Morella (inodora) in MYRICACEAE, Ternstroemia in PENTAPHYLACACEAE, Myrsine in PRIMULACEAE, Pyracantha in ROSACEAE, Dodonaea in SAPINDACEAE, Cestrum in SOLANACEAE, Thymelaea in THYMELAEACEAE, Conocarpus in COMBRETACEAE}
..2 Leaves 1-7 mm long, either acicular and spreading or ovate and appressed to the stems
..2 Leaves > 10 mm long.
....3 Leaves linear, > 15× as long as wide; [Monocots]
....3 Leaves broader, < 15× as long as wide; [Eudicots, Basal Angiosperms, or Monocots].
......4 Plant a creeping subshrub, < 1 dm tall
......4 Plant not creeping, > 3 dm tall.
........5 Inflorescence an involucrate head
........5 Inflorescence solitary (Illicium in ILLICIACEAE) or variously branched, spicate, racemose, or fascicled, not an involucrate head.
..........6 Carpels separate; fruit an aggregate; fresh foliage strongly fragrant; [Basal Angiosperms]
............ 7 Fruit an aggregate of woody follicles arranged in a whorl
............ 7 Fruit an aggregate of red to blackish berries, 4-6 mm long, each on a long stipe, giving the aggregate almost the appearance of an umbel
..........6 Carpels fused; fruit a berry, drupe, acorn (nut), capsule, or legume; fresh foliage not strongly fragrant; [Eudicots, Monocots, and Basal Angiosperms].
............ ..8 Ovary with 3 carpels; fruit a berry; “leaves” actually cladodes; [Monocots]
............ ..8 Ovary with 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 carpels; fruit a berry, drupe, capsule, legume, or nut; leaves actually leaves; [Eudicots and Basal Angiosperms].
............ ....9 Leaves largely covered with silver and/or bronze lepidote scales and/or dense stellate hairs below (visible at 10× or higher magnification), giving the lower leaf surface a slightly shiny to almost metallic appearance. {add Lyonia ferruginea and L. fruticosa in ERICACEAE; add Loropetalum in HAMAMELIDACEAE}
............ ......10 Petals present, conspicuous, connate, white, the corolla rotate; fruit a berry with several seeds; fresh foliage with a strong, tar-like odor
............ ......10 Petals absent or inconspicuous, greenish and separate if present (note that the calyx is petaloid and white or yellowish in Elaeagnus of ELAEAGNACEAE); fruit a dry capsule with 3 seeds, or a drupe with a single seed; fresh foliage lacking a strong odor.
............ ........11 Perianth 4-merous; petals absent; petaloid sepals white to cream, fused and salverform; carpel 1; fruit a fleshy, red drupe, with a single seed
............ ........11 Perianth 5-merous; petals green and separate, or absent; sepals greenish, separate; carpels 3; fruit a 3-valved capsule with 3 seeds
............ ....9 Leaves with various vestiture (or glabrous), but not as above.
............ ..........12 Flowers in spikes, these solitary opposite leaves or in axillary umbels
............ ..........12 Flowers in other types of inflorescences, not spikes.
............ ............ 13 Leaves 1-foliolate on the upper stems, sometimes 3-foliolate below, or all reduced to phyllodial spines; flowers papilionaceous, bright yellow; fruit a legume; stems bright green
............ ............ 13 Leaves simple throughout; flowers either small, inconspicuous, tannish, borne in catkins (Quercus), or larger and urceolate, or with almost separate and spreading petals, white to pink or reddish-orange, in various terminal or axillary, branched inflorescences; fruit either a nut in a cupule (an acorn), or a (3-) 5-valved capsule, or a spherical berry or drupe; stems generally brown or tan (sometimes green).
............ ............ ..14 Flowers small, inconspicuous, tannish, borne in catkins; fruit a nut in a cupule (an acorn)
............ ............ ..14 Flowers white to pink or reddish-orange, either urceolate or tubular or with separate and spreading petals, in various terminal or axillary inflorescences, or solitary; fruit either a (3-) 5-valved capsule, or a spherical berry with 10+ seeds, or a 1-8 seeded dry or fleshy drupe.
............ ............ ....15 Flowers white to pink or reddish-orange, rotate or urceolate (the petals united at least basally), in various terminal or axillary inflorescences or solitary; fruit either a 2-5 valved capsule or a spherical berry with 10+ seeds.
............ ............ ......16 Flowers reddish-orange; corollas bearing post-staminal hairs (appearing as tufts of hair opposite each anther)
............ ............ ......16 Flowers white to pink; corollas without obvious tufts of hair opposite each anther.
............ ............ ........17 Leaves 1 per node or also paired (on one side of the stem) at some nodes (the leaves then uneven in size); inflorescences leaf-opposed; fruit a berry.
............ ............ ........17 Leaves 1 per node; inflorescences terminal or axillary, never leaf-opposed; fruit a valved capsule.
............ ............ ..........18 Seeds without fleshy aril or attachment; ovaries 5-10 carpellate; flowers urceolate; leaves serrate or entire
............ ............ ..........18 Seeds with fleshy aril or attachment; ovaries 2-4 carpellate; flowers rotate; leaves entire or very remotely serrulate.
............ ............ ............ 19 Flowers few, not showy, green to greenish-white, inflorescence not densely arranged (flowers also sometimes solitary); capsules not beaked; leaves not revolute or undulate
............ ............ ............ 19 Flowers numerous, showy, white; inflorescence densely arranged; capsules with short beak; leaf margins revolute or slightly undulate
............ ............ ....15 Flowers white, petals spreading, separate even at the base, in axillary fascicles or racemes; fruit either a fleshy drupe with 4-8 pyrenes, or a dry single-seeded drupe.
............ ............ ............ ..20 Shrub rhizomatous and colonial; fruit an ellipsoid drupe, 2-3 cm long
............ ............ ............ ..20 Shrub not rhizomatous; fruit either a fleshy or dry drupe, < 1 cm long.
............ ............ ............ ....21 Inflorescence an axillary fascicle or cluster; fruit a fleshy drupe with 4-8 pyrenes
............ ............ ............ ....21 Inflorescence an axillary raceme; fruit a dry drupe with 1 seed
1 Leaves deciduous. {add: Ditrysinia in EUPHORBIACEAE, Glochidion in PHYLLANTHACEAE, Phyllanthopsis in PHYLLANTHACEAE, Nierembergia in SOLANACEAE, Edgeworthia in THYMELAEACEAE, Ipomoea (I. carnea) in CONVOLVULACEAE; Swida (S. alternifolia) in CORNACEAE}
............ ............ ............ ......22 Inflorescence branched, spicate, a catkin, or consisting of a solitary flower or axillary clusters or whorls, not an involucrate head.
............ ............ ............ ........23 Inflorescence a catkin; flowers unisexual; plants dioecious
............ ............ ............ ........23 Inflorescence various, not a catkin; flowers bisexual; plants hermaphroditic.
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Inflorescences axillary, solitary flowers
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Fruit a globose, spinose capsule bearing a longitudinal ridge across 1 or both faces, thus essentially resembling a spikey ball; perianth (4-)5-merous, consisting of 3 upper connate petaloid claws and two lower sessile petals; fresh plants without a strange musky odor; [Eudicots]
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Fruit an oblong berry, greenish-yellow when ripe, not bearing small spines; perianth 3-4-merous, without connate petaloid claws; fresh plants fragrant with a strange, musky odor; [Basal Angiosperms]
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Inflorescence of 2 or more flowers; perianth 3-5-merous; fresh plants not musky-fragrant; fruits various, not as above.
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Flowers 3-merous; fruit fleshy, red or greenish-yellow at maturity; ovary superior; [Basal Angiosperms or Eudicots].
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Leaves elliptic or narrowly elliptic, broadest near the middle; fresh plants strongly fragrant with a citrus-like aroma; stems unarmed; fruit a drupe, with a single seed
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Leaves obovate or oblanceolate, broadest near the apex; stems armed with nodal spines; fresh plants not fragrant; fruit a berry, with several seeds.
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Flowers 4-5-merous; fruit fleshy or dry, black, blue, brown, tan, or red at maturity; ovary superior or inferior; [Eudicots].
............ ............ ............ ............ ........29 Fruit a 4-5-valved capsule with many seeds; inflorescence either terminal, a corymb or panicle, or an axillary whorl
............ ............ ............ ............ ........29 Fruit either a drupe or berry (indehiscent, and variously fleshy or dry) or a dry 3-valved capsule with 1 seed; inflorescence axillary (solitary, clusters, fascicles, or racemes), or in a terminal raceme (Pyrularia in SANTALACEAE).
............ ............ ............ ............ ..........30 Leaves largely covered with silver and/or bronze shiny lepidote scales below, giving the lower leaf surface an almost metallic appearance
............ ............ ............ ............ ..........30 Leaves with various vestiture, but not as above.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 31 Ovary inferior or half-inferior; inflorescence an axillary cluster or raceme, or a terminal raceme.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..32 Fruit an elongate drupe (definitely longer than thick), with 1 seed.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ....33 Fruit 6-10 mm long; inflorescence an axillary fascicle
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 31 Ovary superior; inflorescence an axillary cluster or an axillary raceme (borne themselves in clusters).
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ........35 Fruit a red or orange berry, 8-20 mm long; leaves usually on spur-shoots; [salty coastal areas, or exotics of disturbed situations]
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ........35 Fruit a yellowish-green drupe, 12-15 mm long; leaves on main stems; [rich forests, mainly inland]
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..........36 Inflorescence a narrowly cylindrical raceme, clustered several to many at the tip of the previous year’s wood and below the current season’s growth; fruit < 3 mm in diameter
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..........36 Inflorescence an axillary cluster; fruit > 4 mm in diameter
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 37 Fruit dry, opening by 3 valves, 1-seeded; leaf pubescence stellate
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 37 Fruit fleshy, with 4-8 seeds; leaf pubescence simple or absent.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..38 Fruit yellow to red, the pedicel 10-30 mm long; leaf venation pinnate, but irregular and reticulated
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..38 Fruit dark red to black, the pedicel < 10 mm long; leaf venation very neatly pinnate, with the secondary veins nearly straight and parallel to one another

Key G5: shrubs and subshrubs with alternate, simple, unlobed, toothed leaves

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1 Subshrubs or dwarf shrubs, aboveground stems creeping or erect, < 15 cm tall; leaves evergreen.
..2 Leaves 1.5-3 cm wide, coarsely toothed; flowers lacking sepals and petals; [exotic species, sparingly naturalized or spreading in suburban situations]
..2 Leaves < 1.5 cm wide, finely toothed or entire; flowers with sepals and petals; [native species, collectively widespread and common].
....3 Leaves fleshy, terete in ×-section; petals 5, bright pink
....3 Leaves flat, not fleshy; petals white or pale pink.
......4 Leaves < 2.5 mm wide; corolla with petals distinct; plant creeping
......4 Leaves > 5 mm wide; corolla with petals fused (distinct in Chimaphila); plant creeping or erect
1 Shrubs, aboveground stems erect, > 30 cm tall; leaves evergreen or deciduous.
........5 Inflorescence an involucrate (composite) head subtended by phyllaries, the heads solitary or many and variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences, the ovary inferior, the corolla connate and tubular at least basally, the calyx absent, the stamens 5, the fruit a cypsela
........5 Inflorescence, flower, and fruit structure various, but not with the combination of features as above.
..........6 Leaves evergreen. {add to 6a Ardisia in PRIMULACEAE, Rhaphiolepis in ROSACEAE, Camellia in THEACEAE}
............ 7 Leaves glandular-punctate on one or both surfaces with golden-yellow glands; flowers unisexual, lacking a perianth; fruit a pale gray, waxy drupe with a single seed
............ 7 Leaves not glandular punctate; flowers bisexual or unisexual, with a white, pink, or yellow perianth; fruit various, a red, blue, or black drupe or berry with several seeds, or a capsule.
............ ..8 Petals connate and urceolate, white to pale pink; flowers bisexual; leaves ovate, lanceolate, or elliptic, broadest near the middle or towards the base, the teeth well-distributed along most of the margin on either side; fruit either a capsule or a red, blue, or black berry
............ ..8 Petals distinct, yellow or white; flowers unisexual or bisexual; leaves oblanceolate or elliptic, broadest towards the tip or near the middle, the teeth usually concentrated in the upper half of the leaf; fruit either a black or red drupe with several pyrenes, a red berry with several seeds, or red or black pomes.
............ ....9 Plants with nodal, simple or tripartite thorns; flowers bisexual, with a yellow perianth; fruit a red berry with several seeds
............ ....9 Plants lacking thorns; flowers unisexual or bisexual, with a white perianth; fruit either a black or red drupe with several pyrenes or a red or black pome.
............ ......10 Flowers unisexual; fruit a black or red drupe with several pyrenes
............ ......10 Flowers bisexual; fruit a red or black pome
..........6 Leaves deciduous {add [Fagaceae]}.
............ ........11 Plants with nodal, simple or tripartite thorns; leaf teeth spinulose
............ ........11 Plants lacking thorns; leaf teeth acute, blunt, rounded, or callus-tipped, but not spinulose.
............ ..........12 Leaves crenate-wavy, with 1-2 teeth per cm of leaf margin; leaves usually obliquely cordate or angled-truncate at the base; pubescence of leaves and stems stellate
............ ..........12 Leaves crenulate, serrate or serrulate, with >2 teeth per cm of leaf margin; leaves cuneate, rounded, or subcordate at base, not oblique; pubescence of leaves and stems absent or simple.
............ ............ 13 Leaves prominently 3-veined from the base.
............ ............ ..14 Ovary 5-locular; stamens many or 5, fused or separate; fruit a 5-valved capsule or of 5 mericarps; flowers yellow or pink, or white with a pink blaze
............ ............ ..14 Ovary 3-locular; stamens 5, separate; fruit a 3-valved capsule or drupe; flowers white or pale green
............ ............ 13 Leaves pinnately veined.
............ ............ ....15 Flowers in catkins; perianth absent or very small; fruit a 1-seeded nut, samara, or waxy drupe (capsule in Salix in SALICACEAE).
............ ............ ......16 Leaves > 4 cm wide, lacking punctate glands; fruit a 1-seeded nut or samara
............ ............ ......16 Leaves < 3 cm wide, either punctate-glandular on one or both surfaces or lacking punctate glands; fruit a 1-seeded waxy drupe or a capsule.
............ ............ ........17 Leaves punctate-glandular on one or both surfaces; fruit a 1-seeded waxy drupe.
............ ............ ........17 Leaves lacking punctate glands; fruit a capsule.
............ ............ ....15 Flowers arrayed variously, but not in catkins; perianth present, conspicuous; fruit a 1-many-seeded capsule, pome, berry, or follicle.
............ ............ ..........18 Ovary inferior; fruit fleshy and indehiscent, a berry or pome.
............ ............ ............ 19 Fruit a berry; leaves lacking stipules
............ ............ ............ 19 Fruit a pome; leaves usually prominently stipular
............ ............ ..........18 Ovary superior; fruit either dry and dehiscent, a capsule or an aggregate of follicles or achenes, or fleshy and indehiscent, a drupe with 4-8 pyrenes.
............ ............ ............ ..20 Flower apocarpous; fruit an aggregate of follicles or achenes
............ ............ ............ ..20 Flower syncarpous; fruit either a capsule or a fleshy drupe.
............ ............ ............ ....21 Ovary 1-carpellate; fruit a 1-seeded drupe
............ ............ ............ ....21 Ovary 2-8-carpellate; fruit either a capsule or a drupe with 4-8 pyrenes
............ ............ ............ ......22 Ovary 2-8-locular; fruit fleshy and indehiscent, a drupe with 2-8 pyrenes; flowers mostly functionally unisexual (or sometimes bisexual in RHAMNACEAE).
............ ............ ............ ........23 Petals connate at the base; stamens alternate to the petals and opposite to the sepals; fruit 4-8-locular, with 4-8 pyrenes
............ ............ ............ ........23 Petals separate (or absent in Rhamnus alnifolia); stamens opposite to the petals (when present) and alternate to the sepals; fruit 2-4-locular, with 2-4 pyrenes
............ ............ ............ ......22 Ovary 2-3- or 5-locular; fruit dry and dehiscent, a capsule; flowers bisexual (except Stillingia in EUPHORBIACEAE).
............ ............ ............ ..........24 Ovary and capsule 5-locular; stamens 10-many.
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Stamens 10; corolla urceolate, sympetalous
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Stamens many; corolla spreading, apopetalous
............ ............ ............ ..........24 Ovary and capsule 2-3-locular; stamens 2, 5, or 10.
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Leaves > 5× as long as wide; stamens 2; ovary and capsule 3-locular; [plants of the Coastal Plain of SC, GA, AL, and FL]
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Leaves < 3× as long as wide; stamens 5 or 10; ovary and capsule 2-3-locular; [plants collectively widespread].
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Stamens 5; ovary and capsule 2-locular; leaves elliptic (widest near the middle), the teeth fine (usually > 5 points per cm of margin), and along much of the margin; inflorescence a terminal raceme; hairs of the lower leaf surface simple, erect
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Stamens 10; ovary and capsule 3-locular; leaves obovate (widest towards the apex), the teeth obscure to coarse (usually < 4 points per cm of margin), and primarily in the upper half of the leaf; inflorescence a terminal or axillary raceme or cyme; hairs of the lower leaf surface either simple and appressed, or stellate.
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Leaf margins regularly and evenly serrate in the upper half of the leaf (usually nearly entire towards the base); inflorescence an elongate, many flowered (>30) raceme borne at the end of branchlets of the season; corolla of separate petals, the stamens separate; hairs of the lower leaf surface simple and appressed
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Leaf margins wavy or irregularly dentate, mainly in the upper half of the leaf; inflorescence a few flowered (<20) axillary raceme, cyme, or cluster; corolla fused basally into a tube, the stamens adnate to the tube; hairs of the lower leaf surface stellate

Key G6: trees with alternate, simple, unlobed, entire leaves

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1 Leaves evergreen. {add to 1a: [Conocarpus] COMBRETACEAE; [Maytenus] CELASTRACEAE}
..2 Leaves tiny, scale-like, broadest at the base and more or less clasping the stem, < 10 mm long and < 1 mm wide
..2 Leaves larger and broader, > 40 mm long and > 8 mm wide.
....3 Fruit a hesperidium; petiole flanged or winged for most of its length, constricted at the base of the blade (except linear in C. medica)
....3 Fruit various (but not a hesperidium); petiole linear (not flanged or winged with leafy tissue).
......4 Leaves pubescent with stellate hairs or peltate scales (sometimes hairs simple), or glandular punctate, appearing as translucent dots (best seen on lower leaf surfaces, with at least 10x magnification).
........5 Leaves (fresh) strongly odorous, glandular-punctate (appearing as translucent dots), with strongly parallel venation; bark on medium-aged to mature trees papery and peeling
........5 Leaves (fresh) not strongly fragrant, with stellate hairs or punctate scales, leaf venation various but not strongly parallel, bark various but not papery
..........6 Vestiture of the lower leaf surface of silvery and/or reddish peltate scales; plants hermaphroditic, the flowers bisexual; fruit a fleshy drupe
..........6 Vestiture of the lower leaf surface in part of stellate hairs (and also of simple acicular hairs and gland-tipped hairs); plants monoecious, the male flowers in yellow to brownish catkins, the female flowers solitary or in small spikes; fruit a nut in a cupule (an acorn)
......4 Leaves glabrous, or if hairy, with strictly simple hairs.
............ 7 Flowers solitary, terminal, large (> 5 cm in diameter); pistils many, carpels separate; petals many (typically > 8); leaves mostly > 10 cm long (at least some on a branch longer than 10 cm); fruit an aggregate of follicles, each dehiscing along 1 suture; stipule scar circumferential at each node, encircling the twig
............ 7 Flowers either in axillary racemes, panicles, umbels, fascicles, or solitary, or in terminal corymbs, umbels, compound cymes, or racemes, small (< 5 cm in diameter); pistil 1, with 1-8 fused carpels; petals 3-8; leaves < 30 cm long; fruit either a drupe, berry, or capsule; stipule scars either absent or linear or triangular, not circumferentially encircling the twig.
............ ..8 Inflorescence terminal, a corymb, umbel, compound cyme, or raceme; fruit either a capsule (dehiscing along 5 longitudinal sutures) or a few-seeded berry.
............ ....9 Inflorescence a compound cyme; petals deep red to magenta; fruit a few-seeded drupe
............ ....9 Inflorescence a corymb, umbel, or raceme; petals white or pink; fruit a capsule, opening by 5 longitudinal sutures.
............ ......10 Capsules ovoid to globose or subglobose, about as long as broad, 5-8 mm long; leaves 5-12 cm long, 2-3× as long as wide
............ ......10 Capsules elongate, > 2× as long as broad, 8-18 mm long; leaves 10-30 cm long, 3-5× as long as wide
............ ..8 Inflorescence axillary, a raceme, panicle, umbel, fascicle, or solitary; fruit drupaceous, fleshy to dry, but not regularly dehiscent along sutures.
............ ........11 Flowers solitary, axillary or superaxillary; perianth somewhat fleshy, in whorls of 3; carpels numerous, partly fused; fruit an aggregate syncarp
............ ........11 Flowers in inflorescences of > 2 flowers; perianth not fleshy, in whorls of 4 or 5 (or 3 in Lauraceae); carpels 2, 3, 4, or 5, fused; fruit a capsule, drupe, or berry
............ ..........12 Inflorescence an axillary raceme (with an elongate central axis, to which all flowers/fruits are attached).
............ ............ 13 Fruit a dry, tan to brown, spherical or winged drupe; stamens 5 or 10; carpels 2-5; leaves oblanceolate (rarely narrowly elliptic), < 2.5 cm wide, the apex obtuse (more rarely acute, retuse, or rounded)
............ ............ 13 Fruit a fleshy, black, spherical drupe; stamens 10; carpels 1; leaves elliptic, the apex acute to short-acuminate
............ ..........12 Inflorescence either an axillary umbel or fascicle (or reduced to solitary) or an axillary compound inflorescence (panicle or compound cyme), with 2-3 orders of branching.
............ ............ ..14 Fruit a fleshy and oily 1-seeded drupe; flowers 3-merous, with separate and undifferentiated perianth segments; fresh plants strongly aromatic; inflorescence compound, a panicle or compound cyme (with 2-3 orders of branching); [Basal Angiosperms]
............ ............ ..14 Fruit a fleshy but not oily 1-8-seeded drupe or berry; flowers 4-8-merous, with differentiated sepals and petals, the petals usually basally fused; fresh plants not strongly aromatic; inflorescence an axillary umbel or fascicle (or reduced to solitary), a central axis absent or < 1 cm long; [Eudicots].
............ ............ ....15 Plants unarmed (or with marginal leaf prickles or spines); stamens 4-7, not epipetalous; fruit a drupe with 4-8 pyrenes;flowers 4-7-merous
............ ............ ....15 Plants armed with nodal thorns; stamens 5 and staminodia 5, epipetalous; fruit a berry or drupe with 1 seed;flowers 5-merous
1 Leaves deciduous.
............ ............ ......16 Leaf base deeply to shallowly cordate, with 3-7 palmate veins from the base; leaf blade about as wide as long or a little longer, mostly 0.9-1.3× as long as wide.
............ ............ ........17 Juncture of petiole and leaf blade with 2 red glands; corolla radially symmetrical, with 5-8 petals, white with red veins towards the base of the petals; flowers unisexual; fruit globose, 4-8 cm in diameter; main palmate leaf veins 3 (-5)
............ ............ ........17 Juncture of petiole and leaf blade eglandular, but the uppermost 1-3 mm of the petiole swollen into a prominent upper pulvinus; corolla bilaterally symmetrical, with 5 petals, pink to purple (rarely white in some cultivars); flowers bisexual; fruit an oblong, flat legume, 6-10 cm long; main palmate leaf veins 5-7 (-9)
............ ............ ......16 Leaf base cuneate, rounded, truncate, subcordate, or auriculate (with 2 small “earlobe-like” lobes at the base of the leaf blade), with 1 (mid) vein from the base (3 veins from the base in Celtis in CANNABACEAE); leaf blade about as wide as long, or somewhat to much longer, 0.9-10× as long as wide.
............ ............ ..........18 Leaves 0.9-1.4× as long as wide (some taxa keyed in both leads).
............ ............ ............ 19 Stipule scars circumferential, forming a line around the twig; flowers and aggregate fruits solitary, terminal; [Basal Angiosperms]
............ ............ ............ 19 Stipule scars not circumferential (or not apparent); flowers and simple fruits in inflorescences of 1-many flowers, axillary or terminal, but not simultaneously solitary and terminal; [Eudicots].
............ ............ ............ ..20 Leaf blade 3-6 cm long, 1-1.5× as long as the flexuous petiole
............ ............ ............ ..20 Leaf blade 4-30 cm long, > 3× as long as the stiff petiole.
............ ............ ............ ....21 Petioles 1-5 (or more) cm long; leaves broadly orbicular, rounded at the base, usually rounded (rarely obtuse or nearly acute) at the apex, entire; hairs on foliage simple or absent; fruit a fleshy drupe
............ ............ ............ ....21 Petioles < 1 cm long; leaves various in shape, often acuminate at the apex and/or cuneate at the base, often with some tendency to toothing; hairs on foliage stellate (use at least 10× magnification), at least in part; fruit either a nut borne in a cup (acorn) or a dry, subglobose 3-valved capsule, with 1 seed.
............ ............ ............ ......22 Fruit a nut in a cupule (an acorn); flowers unisexual, greenish or brownish, individually inconspicuous, the male flowers borne in catkins
............ ............ ............ ......22 Fruit a dry, subglobose 3-valved capsule, with 1 seed; flowers bisexual, white, conspicuous
............ ............ ..........18 Leaves > 1.4× as long as wide.
............ ............ ............ ........23 Leaves densely covered with silvery peltate scales (use 10× or greater magnification), giving the leaf blade surface a metallic appearance
............ ............ ............ ........23 Leaves glabrous, glabrescent or variously pubescent (including densely and silkily so, giving the leaf surface a shiny appearance), but not as above.
............ ............ ............ ..........24 Plants bearing nodal thorns; leaves elliptic to obovate, 3-9 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, 1.5-4× as long as wide.
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Sap clear, not viscous; sepals 4; petals 4, densely long-hairy on their upper (inner) side); fruit a yellow, 1-seeded drupe, 20-30 mm long; [FL southward]
............ ............ ............ ............ 25 Sap milky or nearly clear but thick and sticky; sepals 5; petals 5, not densely long-hairy; fruit a black, 5-seeded berry, 5-15 mm long; [widespread in our area]
............ ............ ............ ..........24 Plants unarmed (except spiny in Maclura in MORACEAE); leaves various in shape, from broadest towards the base, near the middle, or towards the apex, 3-80 cm long, 1-30 cm wide, 1.5-10× as long as wide.
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Leaves distinctly widest near the base (at a point < 0.3× of the way from the base of the leaf blade to its apex), gradually long-tapering to an acuminate apex.
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Fruit a spherical, dry drupe, 4-8 mm in diameter, with a single seed; leaf 1.5-6 cm wide
............ ............ ............ ............ ....27 Fruit a spherical, fleshy multiple, 80-120 mm in diameter; leaf 5-8 cm wide
............ ............ ............ ............ ..26 Leaves widest near the middle or towards the tip of the leaf blade (at a point > 0.4× of the way from the base of the leaf blade to its apex).
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Pubescence of the foliage stellate (at least in part; simple hairs sometimes present as well); flowers unisexual, the individual flowers inconspicuous, male flowers in catkins; fruit a nut in a cupule (an acorn)
............ ............ ............ ............ ......28 Pubescence of the foliage simple or absent (except stellate in STYRACACEAE); flowers bisexual, conspicuous, borne variously, but not in catkins (except in Leitneria); fruit various.
............ ............ ............ ............ ........29 Leaf surface green (often somewhat paler green than the upper surface, but not whitened).
............ ............ ............ ............ ..........30 Flowers unisexual and borne in male and female catkins; plants dioecious
............ ............ ............ ............ ..........30 Flowers bisexual, not borne in catkins; plants hermaphroditic.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 31 Flowers solitary; ovary superior; perianth either 3-merous and whorled or many-merous and spiraled; leaves mostly > 20 cm long and > 8 cm wide, distinctly broadest towards the apex (> 0.6× of the way from the leaf blade base to apex) (except Magnolia acuminata, which is sometimes both shorter, narrower, and broadest near the middle or towards the base); [Basal Angiosperms].
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..32 Flowers axillary, < 2 cm across, brown or maroon; perianth 3-merous, whorled; fresh foliage with a strong musky odor; fruit a fleshy berry; leaves cuneate at the base; twigs lacking circumferential stipule scars at each node
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..32 Flowers terminal, > 4 cm across, white, pale yellow, or pink; perianth many-merous, spiraled; fresh foliage not noticeably aromatic; fruit an aggregate of follicles; leaves cuneate or auriculate at the base; twigs with circumferential stipule scars at each node
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 31 Flowers in inflorescences of several to many; ovary inferior (or superior in Diospyros in EBENACEAE and Cyrilla in CYRILLACEAE); perianth 4-5-merous; leaves mostly < 20 cm long and < 10 cm wide, broadest near the middle or towards the apex; [Eudicots].
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ....33 Leaves with prominently parallel-arcing secondary veins; inflorescence a terminal corymb; leaves clustered at the tips of the twigs, thus appearing pseudo-whorled; trichomes of the leaf undersurface predominantly 2-branched (some simple) (use at least 10× magnification); flowers 4-merous; fruit a blue drupe; small tree
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ....33 Leaves with secondary veins more obscure and complexly branching into tertiary veins; inflorescence axillary (often on the previous year’s wood), solitary to variously fascicled, clustered, or in racemes; leaves arrayed distichously along horizontal or arching twigs, not prominently clustered or pseudo-whorled (except often in Cyrilla in CYRILLACEAE, Symplocos in SYMPLOCACEAE, and Nyssa in NYSSACEAE); trichomes of the leaf undersurface either simple or stellate (or absent); flowers 4-5-merous; fruit a green, blue, or black drupe, an orange berry, or a green to brownish indehiscent capsule; small to large tree.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ......34 Pubescence of foliage and other parts stellate (use at least 10× magnification); petals 4-5, white, 10-25 mm long; fruit dryish, indehiscent, either longitudinally 2-4-winged or not winged
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ......34 Pubescence of foliage and other parts simple; petals either 0, or 4-5 and pink, white, or greenish-yellow, or 10 and greenish-yellow; fruit either a somewhat to very fleshy drupe or berry or a dry, brownish, spherical drupe, 2-2.5 mm in diameter.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ........35 Leaves < 2.5 cm wide, dark green above, somewhat thickened, and tardily deciduous or semi-evergreen; fruit a dry, brownish, spherical drupe, 2-2.5 mm in diameter; inflorescence a narrowly cylindrical raceme with > 40 flowers
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ........35 Leaves > 2.5 cm wide, usually medium-green above, herbaceous in texture, promptly seasonally deciduous; fruit a somewhat to very fleshy drupe or berry, > 5 mm in diameter; inflorescence a solitary flower or cluster, head, or irregular raceme of < 15 flowers.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..........36 Fruit a drupe (green when ripe), cylindrical to barrel-shaped, 8-12 mm long; leaves rather thick and leathery in texture, persistent into the winter, dropping tardily or at latest the following spring; flowers bisexual; stamens 30-50, in 5 fascicles
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..........36 Fruit a berry (orange when ripe) or a drupe (blue-black, yellow, orange, or red when ripe), 8-50 mm long, spherical or ovoid to ellipsoid; leaves thin in texture, promptly deciduous in the autumn; flowers functionally unisexual; stamens 5-16, separate.
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 37 Fruit a spherical berry, 15-50 mm long, orange when ripe, subtended by the enlarged and persistent woody or leathery calyx; vascular bundles 1 per leaf scar; leaves never toothed; leaves whitish-green beneath; leaf midrib and upper petiole with tiny glands on their upper surfaces (reddish initially, then darkening) (use at least 10× magnification); leaves glabrate to tomentose with curly hairs beneath; female and male flowers on separate trees (dioecious); stamens 16; widest point of the leaf usually at the middle or below, the apex acute to acuminate
............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 37 Fruit an ovoid or ellipsoid drupe, 8-30 -40 mm long, blue-black, yellow, orange, or red when ripe; vascular bundles 3 per leaf scar; leaves sometimes bearing a few irregular teeth; leaves pale to medium green beneath; leaf midrib and upper petiole lacking reddish to dark glands on their upper surfaces; leaves glabrous or glabrate beneath; female and male flowers on the same tree (monoecious); stamens 5-12; widest point of the leaf usually beyond or at the middle, the apex obtuse to strikingly and abruptly acuminate

Key G7: trees with alternate, simple, unlobed, toothed leaves

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1 Leaves evergreen.
..2 Petiole flanged or winged, constricted at the base of the blade; fruit a hesperidium
..2 Petiole linear (not flanged or winged with leafy tissue); fruit various. {add to 2b: [Sapium] EUPHORBIACEAE, [Photinia] ROSACEAE, [Prunus (caroliniana)] ROSACEAE, [Ilex (cassine, myrtifolia)] AQUIFOLIACEAE}
....3 Leaves 7-20 cm long, usually at least some on a branch > 12 cm long, thick in texture but readily flexible when fresh.
......4 Inflorescence of a solitary flower, axillary, 5-7 cm across; fruit a capsule, ca. 1 cm in diameter
......4 Incflorescence a corymb of many, smaller flowers; fruit a pome, 0.4-0.8 (-1.2) cm in diameter
....3 Leaves 3-12 cm long, thick in texture and also noticeably stiff.
........5 Leaf with a spinose margin, the marginal spines well-developed, generally arrayed along most of the leaf margin and borne at nearly a right angle to the midvein
........5 Leaf margins serrate with one or a few stiff teeth (sometimes sharpish, but not spines), these usually towards the apex of the leaf and oriented towards the leaf apex
1 Leaves deciduous.
..........6 Secondary veins neatly pinnate, the veins on each side of the midrib evenly spaced, parallel to one another, and extending nearly or actually to the leaf margin; fruit either a 1-seeded nut (dry, with or without samaroid wings, bracts, a subtending cupule, or an enclosing and valvate involucre) or a fleshy drupe with 2-4 stones.
............ 7 Leaves doubly-serrate, the number of teeth greater than the number of the pinnate secondary veins (sometimes obscurely so in Planera in ULMACEAE); fruit a nut or samaroid nut, lacking a cupule or valvate involucre, though sometimes associated with green, leaf-like bracts.
............ ..8 Flowers unisexual, in catkins, the tree monoecious; leaf base symmetrical
............ ..8 Flowers bisexual, in axillary fascicles, the tree androgynous; leaf base strongly asymmetrical (oblique) or nearly or quite symmetrical.
............ 7 Leaves singly serrate or crenate, the teeth the same number as the secondary veins; fruit either a fleshy drupe with 2-4 stones, or a nut with a cupule (acorn) or enclosed by a valvate involucre that splits at maturity.
............ ....9 Fruit a fleshy drupe with 2-4 stones
............ ....9 Fruit dry, single-seeded (or with 1-4 nuts in Castanea).
............ ......10 Fruit > 9 mm long or wide, either a nut with a cupule (acorn) or 1-4 nuts enclosed by a valvate involucre that splits at maturity
............ ......10 Fruit < 9 mm long and wide, leathery, indehiscent, winged or not
..........6 Secondary veins not as above, usually arching and/or branching or reticulating well before reaching the leaf margin; fruit various.
............ ........11 Leaves strongly 3-5-veined from the base; leaf blade cordate or truncate, often oblique.
............ ..........12 Inflorescence terminal, a compound cyme; peduncles and pedicels becoming swollen, fleshy, and juicy at maturity; [plant rarely naturalized]
............ ..........12 Inflorescence axillary, a solitary flower, a fascicle or cluster, or a cyme; peduncles and pedicels remaining stalk-like; [collectively widespread and common].
............ ............ 13 Flowers unisexual, plants monoecious; pith of mature twigs chambered with hollow sections between soft partitions
............ ............ 13 Flowers bisexual; plants hermaphroditic; pith of mature twigs continuous without hollow sections between partitions.
............ ............ ..14 Flowers bisexual; inflorescence an axillary cyme; fresh leaves and stems lacking white latex; fruit simple, a 1-seeded nut; main leaf veins splitting several times towards the leaf margin and leading into the teeth without rejoining and forming a marginal vein; basal veins 5, palmate, all joining together at the summit of the petiole; main lateral leaf veins (above the basal veins) often opposite; winter buds with 3 entire bud scales (1 much smaller than the other 2)
............ ............ ..14 Flowers unisexual, the pistillate inflorescence a head, the staminate inflorescence a catkin, borne on the same tree (monoecious) or on separate trees (dioecious); fresh leaves and stems with white latex; fruit a multiple of fleshy achenes; main leaf veins splitting towards the margin but then rejoining to form a prominent, looping (scalloped) marginal vein; basal veins 3, palmate, sometimes an additional prominent vein on each side joining the lateral vein above its divergence from the petiole end; main lateral leaf veins (above the basal veins) mainly alternate; winter buds with 5 ciliate-margined bud scales
............ ........11 Leaves pinnately veined; leaf blade base cordate, subcordate, truncate, rounded, or cuneate base, not oblique.
............ ............ ....15 Inflorescence a terminal raceme of racemes, with more than 50 flowers; petals connate, urceolate; fruit a 5-valved capsule, < 6 mm in diameter; fresh leaves with a sour taste
............ ............ ....15 Inflorescence various, either with < 30 flowers or if with > 50 flowers a catkin (with a single axis); corolla with separate petals (or petals absent); fruit various, fleshy or dry, if a 5-valved capsule (Franklinia in THEACEAE), then 15-20 mm in diameter; fresh leaves without a sour taste.
............ ............ ......16 Pubescence stellate (look especially in vein axils on the undersurface of the leaf)
............ ............ ......16 Pubescence simple (or absent).
............ ............ ........17 Flowers very large and showy, 7-9 cm across; fruit a subglobose capsule 1.5-2 cm in diameter
............ ............ ........17 Flowers less than 2 cm across; fruit either fleshy and indehiscent, a drupe, samara, or pome, or dry and dehiscent, an ovoid or lanceolate capsule < 0.7 cm in diameter.
............ ............ ..........18 Flowers unisexual, borne either in axillary catkins; trees dioecious; fruit either dehiscent, a lanceoloid or ovoid capsule (SALICACEAE) or indehiscent, a samara (Eucommia ulmoides).
............ ............ ............ 19 Plants bearing latex; fruit a samara, 25-32 mm long, the apex emarginate
............ ............ ............ 19 Plants not bearing latex; fruit a lanceoloid or ovoid capsule
............ ............ ..........18 flowers bisexual (unisexual in Ilex in AQUIFOLIACEAE), borne variously in terminal or axillary clusters, cymes, racemes, or umbels, but not at all catkin-like; trees hermaphroditic (dioecious in AQUIFOLIACEAE); fruit indehiscent, a fleshy drupe or pome with 1-many seeds.
............ ............ ............ ..20 Pith of twigs with transverse diaphragms and also continuous between the diaphragms (make a longitudinal section of twig and use at least 10× magnification; look for translucent diaphragms spaced at < 1 mm apart, with whiter pith tissue between them); fruit distinctly longer than broad, a 1-seeded drupe
............ ............ ............ ..20 Pith of twigs lacking diaphragms, continuous and homogeneous; fruit either suborbicular to spherical or pear-shaped, either a several- to many-seeded pome, or a berry-like drupe with 4-8 seeds, or a 1-seeded drupe.
............ ............ ............ ....21 Vascular bundle scars 1 in each leaf scar; fruit a berrylike drupe with 4-8 bony pyrenes; ovary superior, the calyx persistent at the base of the fruit
............ ............ ............ ....21 Vascular bundle scars (2-) 3 in each leaf scar; fruit a pome or 1-seeded drupe; ovary either inferior and the calyx persistent at the summit of the fruit (Amelanchier, Crataegus, Malus, Pyrus) or superior and the calyx not at all persistent at the base of the fruit (Prunus)
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