peduncles (trailing or creeping plants; flowers in late spring
and summer) --51.
50b. Flowers in narrow terminal spike-like racemes (3-8 dm. high;
summer) (Agrimony) --52.
50c. Flowers in irregular or spreading clusters --55.
51a. Leaflets 5 =Five-finger, Potentilla canadensis.=
51b. Leaflets 7-25 =Silver Weed, Potentilla anserina.=
52a. Principal leaflets more than 3 times (about 3-1/2) as long as
wide =Agrimony, Agrimonia parviflora.=
52b. Principal leaflets less than 3 times (about 2-1/2) as long as
wide --53.
53a. Leaves nearly glabrous beneath, or with scattered spreading hairs
=Agrimony, Agrimonia gryposepala.=
53b. Leaves softly pubescent beneath --54.
54a. Leaves distinctly glandular beneath
=Agrimony, Agrimonia striata.=
54b. Leaves not glandular beneath =Agrimony, Agrimonia mollis.=
55a. Principal leaves palmately compound with 5-7 leaflets (Cinquefoil)
--56.
55b. Principal stem-leaves with 3 leaflets, or pinnately compound with
several leaflets --58.
56a. Leaves silvery-white beneath, laciniately toothed (1-4 dm.
high; late spring and summer)
=Silvery Cinquefoil, Potentilla argentea.=
56b. Leaves not silvery-white beneath (3-10 dm. high; summer)
--57.
57a. Terminal leaflet more than 3 times as long as wide
=Cinquefoil, Potentilla recta.=
57b. Terminal leaflet less than 3 times as long as wide
=Cinquefoil, Potentilla intermedia=
58a. Flowers about 4 mm. wide (2-6 dm. high; spring)
=Spring Avens, Geum vernum.=
58b. Flowers 6 mm. wide, or wider --59.
59a. Principal leaves with lobed leaflets, of which the terminal is the
largest; leaf-axis bearing also some small leaflets between those
of usual size (4-12 dm. high; late spring and summer) (Avens) --60.
59b. Principal leaves with toothed or pinnately cleft leaflets, the
lateral ones about equaling the terminal one in size, and without
any small scattered leaflets (3-8 dm. tall; summer) (Cinquefoil)
--61.
60a. Terminal leaflet cordate at base =Avens, Geum macrophyllum.=
60b. Terminal leaflet wedge-shape or acute at base
=Avens, Geum strictum.=
61a. Leaflets 3 =Cinquefoil, Potentilla monspeliensis.=
61b. Leaflets 5-15 --62.
62a. Leaflets crenate =Cinquefoil, Potentilla paradoxa.=
62b. Leaflets deeply incised
=Cinquefoil, Potentilla pennsylvanica.=
63a. Leaves all basal, the flowers on leafless stalks --64.
63b. Stem-leaves present --66.
64a. Leaves simple (1-2 dm. high; summer)
=Dalibarda, Dalibarda repens.=
64b. Leaves trifoliate (1-2 dm. high; spring) (Strawberry) --65.
65a. Leaflets thick and firm, the petioles and pedicels pubescent with
spreading or ascending hairs; fruit subglobose, the achenes
embedded in pits on its surface
=Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana.=
65b. Leaflets thin, the petioles and pedicels nearly glabrous or with
appressed hairs; fruit conic, the achenes on its surface
=Wood Strawberry, Fragaria americana.=
66a. Leaves pinnate with numerous leaflets --67.
66b. Stem-leaves with 3-5 leaflets --72.
67a. Leaflets laciniate or deeply lobed (flowers pink or purple, early
summer) --68.
67b. Leaflets merely toothed --69.
68a. Stem-leaves few, small and opposite (2-4 dm. tall)
=Purple Avens, Geum triflorum.=
68b. Stem-leaves large and alternate (5-20 dm. tall)
=Queen of the Prairie, Filipendula rubra.=
69a. Individual flowers small, not exceeding 6 mm. across, in large
clusters or spikes --70.
69b. Individual flowers more than 10 mm. wide, in few-flowered clusters
(Cinquefoil) --71.
70a. Flowers in dense spikes (5-15 dm. high; late summer)
=Burnet, Sanguisorba canadensis.=
70b. Flowers in panicles =Sorbaria, Sorbaria sorbifolia.=
71a. Flowers red or purple (3-6 dm. high; summer)
=Marsh Cinquefoil, Potentilla palustris.=
71b. Flowers white (5-10 dm. high; early summer)
=Cinquefoil, Potentilla arguta.=
72a. Pistils 5 (5-10 dm. high; flowers white or pink, early summer)
--73.
72b. Pistils 10, in a ring (flowers pink or purple) --68b.
72c. Pistils numerous, in a head or close group --74.
73a. Stipules linear or subulate, 5-8 mm. long
=Bowman's Root, Gillenia trifoliata.=
73b. Stipules leaf-like, 10-25 mm. long, serrate
=American Ipecac, Gillenia stipulata.=
74a. Flowers red or purple --75.
74b. Flowers white --76.
75a. Leaflets sharply and irregularly toothed or lobed; petals erect,
narrowed at the base (3-9 dm. high; early summer)
=Purple Avens, Geum rivale.=
75b. Leaflets finely and regularly toothed, oblong; petals spreading
--71a.
76a. Leaflets entire below, 3-toothed at the apex (1-3 dm. high;
summer) =Cinquefoil, Potentilla tridentata.=
76b. Leaflets toothed all around the margin --77.
77a. Leaves all trifoliate (2-5 dm. high; late spring) --17b.
77b. Some of the upper leaves merely lobed or dentate (5-8 dm. high)
(Avens) --78.
78a. Stem bristly-hairy (early summer) =Avens, Geum virginianum.=
78b. Stem softly and finely pubescent (summer)
=Avens, Geum canadense.=
LEGUMINOSAE, the Pulse Family
Trees, shrubs, or herbs, with alternate compound (except 3 species with
simple) leaves and stipules; flowers usually irregular (except in a few
species), with a large upper petal and 4 smaller ones, the 2 lower
enclosing the stamens and pistil; stamens almost always 10, and
generally united by their filaments; pistil 1, simple, ripening into a
pod.
1a. Shrubs or trees --2.
1b. Herbs, twining, but without tendrils --9.
1c. Herbs; the leaves, or some of them, tipped with tendrils --12.
1d. Herbs, not climbing or twining; tendrils none --21.
2a. Leaves simple --3.
2b. Leaves compound --4.
3a. Leaves broadly cordate (tall shrub or small tree; flowers pink,
early spring) =Redbud, Cercis canadensis.=
3b. Leaves lanceolate or elliptical (3-6 dm. high; flowers yellow,
summer) =Dyer's Greenweed, Genista tinctoria.=
4a. Twigs or branches thorny --5.
4b. Thorns none --7.
5a. Thorns branched, scattered on the stem (tall tree; flowers greenish,
early summer) =Honey Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos.=
5b. Thorns unbranched, a pair of them at the base of each leaf (late
spring) --6.
6a. Branches glabrous or nearly so (tree; flowers white)
=Black Locust, Robinia pseudo-acacia.=
6b. Branches glandular-pubescent (tall shrub; flowers pinkish)
=Clammy Locust, Robinia viscosa.=
6c. Branches bristly (shrub. 1-3 m. high; flowers pink)
=Bristly Locust, Robinia hispida.=
7a. Trees; leaves 2-3-pinnate (flowers greenish-white, spring)
=Kentucky Coffee-tree, Gymnocladus dioica.=
7b. Low shrubs; leaves once-pinnate (3-6 dm. high; summer) --8.
8a. Flowers bright-blue, each with a single petal
=Lead Plant, Amorpha canescens.=
8b. Flowers yellowish and pink-purple, petals 5 --26a.
9a. Leaflets 5-7; flowers in racemes (purplish, late summer)
=Wild Bean, Apios tuberosa.=
9b. Leaflets 3 (flowers greenish, purple, or white, late summer) --10.
10a. Flowers in small capitate clusters; lower 2 petals strongly
incurved =Wild Bean, Strophostyles helvola.=
10b. Flowers in racemes (Hog Peanut) --11.
11a. Stem pubescent or glabrate; leaflets seldom more than 5 cm. long
=Hog Peanut, Amphicarpa monoica.=
11b. Stem villous with retrorse hairs; leaflets usually longer than 5 cm.
=Hog Peanut, Amphicarpa pitcheri.=
12a. Style with a tuft of hairs at the apex; lateral petals of the
corolla adherent to the lower ones as far as the middle;
stipules less than 10 mm. long, and usually less than
one-fourth the length of the lower leaflets (spring and
summer) (Vetch) --13.
12b. Style hairy along the inner side; lateral petals of the
corolla free from the lower ones or adherent only at the
very base; stipules more than 8 mm. long and usually
one-third or more the length of the lower leaflets (late
spring and summer) --17.
13a. Flowers axillary, sessile or nearly so (flowers purple) --14.
13b. Flowers in peduncled racemes --15.
14a. Upper leaves oblong-obovate, truncate or notched, and
mucronate at the apex =Spring Vetch, Vicia sativa.=
14b. Upper leaves lance-linear, sharply acute
=Common Vetch, Vicia angustifolia.=
15a. Flowers 15-20 mm. long, 4-8 in a cluster (flowers purple)
=Vetch, Vicia americana.=
15b. Flowers 8-12 mm. long --16.
16a. Racemes one-sided; flowers blue =Vetch, Vicia cracca.=
16b. Racemes loosely flowered, not one-sided; flowers whitish, the
lower petals tipped with blue =Vetch, Vicia caroliniana.=
17a. Flowers yellowish-white =Vetchling, Lathyrus ochroleucus.=
17b. Flowers purple --18.
18a. Stipules nearly regularly halberd-shape, almost as large as
the leaflets =Beach Pea, Lathyrus maritimus.=
18b. Stipules half-sagittate, apparently attached laterally near
the middle --19.
19a. Leaflets 4-8 pairs, ovate; racemes with 10 or more flowers
=Wild Pea, Lathyrus venosus.=
19b. Leaflets 2-4 pairs, linear to oblong or elliptical; racemes with
2-9 flowers (Marsh Pea) --20.
20a. Stems with a membranous wing on the margins
=Marsh Pea, Lathyrus palustris.=
20b. Stems angled, but not winged
=Marsh Pea, Lathyrus palustris var. myrtifolius.=
21a. Leaves simple (2-3 dm. high; flowers yellow, summer)
=Rattlebox, Crotalaria sagittalis.=
21b. Leaves palmately compound; leaflets 7-11 (3-6 dm. high; flowers
blue, late spring) =Lupine, Lupinus perennis.=
21c. Leaves pinnately compound; leaflets 5 to many --22.
21d. Leaves compound; leaflets 3 --28.
22a. Leaflets 5; flowers rose-purple in a spike-like head (5-8 dm.
high, late summer) =Prairie Clover, Petalostemum purpureum.=
22b. Leaflets more than 5 --23.
23a. Flowers bright-blue, in a dense spike (3-6 dm. high; summer) --8a.
23b. Flowers bright-yellow; stamens not united (summer) --24.
23c. Flowers white, cream-color, or yellowish, or marked with purple
--26.
24a. Leaflets linear-oblong, 2 cm. long or less; stamens 5 or 10
(3-6 dm. high) (Partridge Pea) --25.
24b. Leaflets lanceolate-oblong, 2-5 cm. long; 7 stamens with
normal anthers and 3 with imperfect anthers (8-15 dm. high)
=Wild Senna, Cassia marilandica.=
25a. Anthers 10; flowers 2-4 cm. wide
=Partridge Pea, Cassia chamaecrista.=
25b. Anthers 5; flowers 5-10 mm. wide
=Partridge Pea, Cassia nictitans.=
26a. Silky-hairy with whitish hairs; flowers marked with purple
(3-5 dm. high; summer) =Goat's Rue, Tephrosia virginiana.=
26b. Glabrous or nearly so (summer) (Milk Vetch) --27.
27a. Flowers greenish cream-color (4-10 dm. high)
=Milk Vetch, Astragalus canadensis.=
27b. Flowers white (3-5 dm. high) =Milk Vetch, Astragalus neglectus.=
28a. Flowers in heads, umbels, or short dense spikes --29.
28b. Flowers in loose racemes or panicles --42.
29a. Flowers bright-yellow; decumbent or ascending plants (spring and
summer) --30.
29b. Flowers white, cream, purple, or red; never yellow --34.
30a. Whole flower only about 2 mm. long; pod coiled --31.
30b. Flowers larger, each one 3-6 mm. long; pod straight (1-4 dm.
high) (Hop Clover) --32.
31a. Flowers numerous in each head =Black Medick, Medicago lupulina.=
31b. Flowers in clusters of 2 --20 =Bur Clover, Medicago hispida.=
32a. Stipules linear =Hop Clover, Trifolium agrarium.=
32b. Stipules ovate --33.
33a. Heads densely flowered; flowers 20 or more; upper petal striate
when dry =Hop Clover, Trifolium procumbens.=
33b. Heads loosely flowered; flowers usually 10 or fewer; upper petal
scarcely striate or not at all =Hop Clover, Trifolium dubium.=
34a. Leaves palmately compound, the 3 leaflets all from the same
point (late spring and summer) (Clover) --35.
34b. Leaves pinnately compound, the terminal leaflet on a distinct
stalk --39.
35a. Individual flowers sessile, or on very short pedicels --36.
35b. Individual flowers distinctly pedicelled --37.
36a. Heads oblong, on distinct peduncles; calyx longer than the
corolla (flowers nearly white; 1-4 dm. tall)
=Stone Clover, Trifolium arvense.=
36b. Heads nearly globose, almost sessile, closely subtended by the
leaves; corolla longer than the calyx (2-8 dm. high; flowers
red-purple) =Red Clover, Trifolium pratense.=
37a. Stems prostrate or creeping; heads long-peduncled, arising from the
creeping branches (flower-stalks 1-2 dm. high; flowers white)
=White Clover, Trifolium repens.=
37b. Some or all of the stems erect; heads arising from the leafy stems
(flowers white or pink) --38.
38a. Plants with long basal runners; flowers 10-13 mm. long (2-3
dm. high) =Buffalo Clover, Trifolium stoloniferum.=
38b. Basal runners none; flowers 6-8 mm. long (3-8 dm. high)
=Alsike Clover, Trifolium hybridum.=
39a. Prostrate; leaflets broadly ovate; flowers 3-10 in a cluster --10a.
39b. Erect; leaflets broadest near the middle; flowers numerous (5-12
dm. high; flowers yellowish-white, late summer) (Bush Clover) --40.
40a. Leaflets less than twice as long as broad
=Bush Clover, Lespedeza hirta.=
40b. Leaflets more than twice as long as broad --41.
41a. Leaflets linear, 5 mm. wide or less; heads with obvious peduncles
=Bush Clover, Lespedeza angustifolia.=
41b. Leaflets narrowly elliptical, the principal ones more than 5 mm.
wide; heads sessile or nearly so
=Bush Clover, Lespedeza capitata.=
42a. Leaflets finely toothed --43.
42b. Leaflets entire --44.
43a. Flowers violet or blue (3-6 dm. high; summer)
=Alfalfa, Medicago sativa.=
43b. Flowers yellow (1-2 m. high; summer)
=Yellow Sweet Clover, Melilotus officinalis.=
43c. Flowers white (1-3 m. high; summer)
=White Sweet Clover, Melilotus alba.=
44a. Flowers yellow (5-10 dm. high; summer)
=Wild Indigo, Baptisia tinctoria.=
44b. Flowers white, the leaflets all from the same point (5-10 dm.
high; summer) =Wild Indigo, Baptisia leucantha.=
44c. Flowers blue, purple, or pink (rarely white, and then the
terminal leaflet stalked) --45.
45a. Racemes arising from the base of the plant, leafless (4-8 dm. high;
summer) =Tick Trefoil, Desmodium nudiflorum.=
45b. Racemes terminal or a few of them axillary; leaflets generally
more than 3 cm. long; pod (usually to be seen at the base of the
raceme) transversely segmented into 2 or more joints (summer)
(Tick Trefoil; the genus Desmodium. Pods are usually necessary for
satisfactory identification) --46.
45c. Racemes short, loose, chiefly axillary; leaflets generally less
than 3 cm. long; the short ovate or ovoid pod not transversely
jointed (5-10 dm. high; flowers in summer) (Bush Clover; the genus
Lespedeza. Reference to the Manual is recommended) --58.
46a. Leaves clustered near the summit of the stem (4-12 dm. high)
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium grandiflorum.=
46b. Leaves scattered on the stem --47.
47a. Plants prostrate; racemes panicled; leaflets nearly circular
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium rotundifolium.=
47b. Plants decumbent or ascending; racemes short, simple, few-flowered;
stipules ovate (stems 4-8 dm. long)
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium pauciflorum.=
47c. Plants erect or ascending; racemes panicled --48.
48a. Leaflets of an oblong type, broadest at or near the middle,
and about 4 times as long as broad (5-10 dm. tall) --49.
48b. Leaflets of an ovate or lanceolate type, broadest below the
middle, and not more than 3 times as long as wide --50.
49a. Stem pubescent; leaves sessile or nearly so
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium sessilifolium.=
49b. Stem glabrous or nearly so; leaves obviously petioled
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium paniculatum.=
50a. Stipules lanceolate to ovate, 1 cm. long or more (6-15 dm.
high) --51.
50b. Stipules narrowly lanceolate or subulate, less than 1 cm. long
--54.
51a. Stems glabrous or minutely pubescent; leaves acuminate --52.
51b. Stems hispid or densely pubescent; leaves ovate or
ovate-lanceolate, obtuse or barely acute --53.
52a. Leaves glabrous on both sides
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium bracteosum.=
52b. Leaves rough above, hairy beneath
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium bracteosum var. longifolium.=
53a. Leaflets broadly ovate =Tick Trefoil, Desmodium canescens.=
53b. Leaflets ovate-lanceolate =Tick Trefoil, Desmodium illinoense.=
54a. Flowers 10-12 mm. long (1-2 m. high)
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium canadense.=
54b. Flowers 5-8 mm. long (5-8 dm. tall) --55.
54c. Flowers 3-4 mm. long (4-8 dm. tall) --56.
55a. Leaflets broadly ovate =Tick Trefoil, Desmodium viridiflorum.=
55b. Leaflets oblong-ovate =Tick Trefoil, Desmodium dillenii.=
56a. Leaflets 3-5 cm. long, oblong-ovate, scabrous above
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium rigidum.=
56b. Leaflets 1-2.5 cm. long, broadly ovate or oval, not scabrous
above --57.
57a. Stem and leaves glabrous or very nearly so
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium marilandicum.=
57b. Stem and leaves conspicuously pubescent
=Tick Trefoil, Desmodium obtusum.=
58a. Flower-clusters sessile, or on peduncles shorter than the
subtending leaves --59.
58b. Flower-clusters, or many of them, on peduncles longer than the
leaves --61.
59a. Leaves linear-oblong =Bush Clover, Lespedeza virginica.=
59b. Leaves ovate or oval --60.
60a. Leaves and stem velvety or downy
=Bush Clover, Lespedeza stuvei.=
60b. Leaves and stem glabrous, or with close appressed pubescence
=Bush Clover, Lespedeza frutescens.=
61a. Leaves ovate or broadly elliptical; corolla conspicuously exceeding
the calyx --62.
61b. Leaves linear-oblong; calyx about as long as the corolla
=Bush Clover, Lespedeza manniana.=
62a. Stem erect or ascending --63.
62b. Stem trailing; peduncles much exceeding the leaves
=Bush Clover, Lespedeza procumbens.=
63a. Villous-pubescent; inflorescence dense; some peduncles shorter than
the leaves =Bush Clover, Lespedeza nuttallii.=
63b. Slightly pubescent or glabrous; inflorescence loose, on peduncles
much longer than the leaves =Bush Clover, Lespedeza violacea.=
LINACEAE, the Flax Family
Herbs with simple leaves, and regular flowers, having 5 sepals, 5 yellow
or blue petals, 5 stamens, and 5 styles.
1a. Flowers blue (3-6 dm. high; summer) =Flax, Linum usitatissimum.=
1b. Flowers yellow (3-8 dm. high; summer) (Wild Flax) --2.
2a. Middle stem-leaves below the branches opposite
=Wild Flax, Linum striatum.=
2b. Middle stem-leaves below the branches alternate --3.
3a. Leaves narrowly lanceolate to linear, 1-4 mm. wide --4.
3b. Leaves oblanceolate to oblong, 4-6 mm. wide
=Wild Flax, Linum virginianum.=
4a. Leaves entire =Wild Flax, Linum medium.=
4b. Upper leaves glandular-ciliate =Wild Flax, Linum sulcatum.=
OXALIDACEAE, the Wood Sorrel Family
Herbs, with alternate or basal compound leaves with 3 reverse
heart-shaped leaflets; sepals, petals, and styles each 5; stamens 10.
(Wood Sorrel)
1a. Leaves all basal; flowers white to pink-purple (1-2 dm. high; late
spring) --2.
1b. Stem-leaves present; flowers yellow (1-5 dm. high; spring and
summer) --3.
2a. Flower-stalks bearing a single flower
=Wood Sorrel, Oxalis acetosella.=
2b. Flower-stalks bearing an umbel of several flowers
=Wood Sorrel, Oxalis violacea.=
3a. Stem prostrate and creeping Wood Sorrel, Oxalis repens.
3b. Stem erect or ascending --4.
4a. Pedicels with spreading pubescence
=Wood Sorrel, Oxalis corniculata.=
4b. Pedicels with appressed pubescence
=Wood Sorrel, Oxalis stricta.=
GERANIACEAE, the Geranium Family
Herbs, with deeply lobed or divided leaves; flowers regular, with 5
sepals, 5 petals, 5 or 10 stamens, and a 5-celled ovary.
1a. Anthers 5 (spreading or ascending plants, 2-4 dm. high; flowers pink
or purple, spring and summer) --2.
1b. Anthers 10 --3.
2a. Leaves pinnately dissected =Stork's-bill, Erodium cicutarium.=
2b. Leaves palmately divided into cuneate lobes
=Crane's-bill, Geranium pusillum.=
3a. Leaves ternately divided, the lobes pinnatifid (2-4 dm. high;
flowers purple, late spring and summer)
=Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum.=
3b. Leaves palmately 3-11-lobed --4.
4a. Petals 12 mm. long or more (3-6 dm. high; flowers pale purple,
spring) =Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum.=
4b. Petals less than 10 mm. long (Crane's-bill) --5.
5a. Seed-bearing portion of the pistil smooth, glabrous or nearly so
(low spreading plant; flowers purple, late spring and summer)
=Crane's-bill, Geranium columbinum.=
5b. Seed-bearing portion of the pistil transversely wrinkled (widely
branching. 1-3 dm. tall; flowers purple, summer)
=Crane's-bill, Geranium molle.=
5c. Seed-bearing portion of the pistil pubescent (widely branching. 1-5
dm. tall) --6.
6a. Leaves divided almost to the base (flowers pinkish or white,
spring and summer) --7.
6b. Leaves divided one-half to two-thirds the way to the base
(flowers purple, summer)
=Crane's-bill, Geranium rotundifolium.=
7a. Petals white or pale pink; flowers in compact clusters
=Crane's-bill, Geranium carolinianum.=
7b. Petals pink-purple; flowers in loose clusters
=Crane's-bill, Geranium bicknellii.=
RUTACEAE, the Rue Family
Shrubs or low trees, with compound leaves frequently dotted with
translucent glands; flowers small, greenish-white, with 3-5 sepals,
petals, and stamens.
1a. Leaflets 5-9; stems thorny =Prickly Ash, Zanthoxylum americanum.=
1b. Leaflets 3; stems not thorny =Hop Tree, Ptelea trifoliata.=
SIMARUBACEAE, the Quassia Family
Trees, with pinnately compound leaves and small greenish-yellow flowers
in large panicles in early summer, ripening into winged fruits.
One species in Michigan, escaped from cultivation chiefly in towns
=Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus glandulosa.=
POLYGALACEAE, the Milkwort Family
Small herbs, with alternate or whorled simple leaves, and small
irregular flowers; sepals 5, petals 3, stamens 6 or 8, more or less
united with each other and with the petals.
1a. All of the leaves alternate --2.
1b. Some or all of the leaves in whorls (1-4 dm. high; flowers greenish,
purple, or white; summer) (Milkwort) --6.
2a. Flowers few, loosely clustered, 15-20 mm. long (1-3 dm. high;
flowers purple; early summer)
=Flowering Wintergreen, Polygala paucifolia.=
2b. Flowers numerous, in a spike or raceme --3.
3a. Stem-leaves minute, linear-subulate; stem slender, erect, 3-7 dm.
high (flowers pink; summer) =Milkwort, Polygala incarnata.=
3b. Stem-leaves narrowly oblong or broader; stem generally 1-4 dm. high
--4.
4a. Flowers in a short thick obtuse very dense spike (flowers
greenish or purple; summer) =Milkwort, Polygala sanguinea.=
4b. Flowers in a slender tapering spike --5.
4c. Flowers in a raceme; plants with subterranean flowers also
(flowers purple; early summer) =Milkwort, Polygala polygama.=
5a. Leaves linear or nearly so (flowers purple; summer) --7b.
5b. Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 2-6 cm. long (flowers white;
late spring) =Seneca Snakeroot, Polygala senega.=
5c. Leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate (flowers white; late spring)
=Seneca Snakeroot, Polygala senega var. latifolia.=
6a. Spike oval, thick, obtuse =Milkwort, Polygala cruciata.=
6b. Spike acute --7.
7a. Spike densely flowered, 1-2 cm. long
=Milkwort, Polygala verticillata.=
7b. Spike loosely flowered, 2-5 cm. long
=Milkwort, Polygala verticillata var. ambigua.=
EUPHORBIACEAE, the Spurge Family
Herbs, with alternate, opposite, or whorled leaves and usually milky
juice. Flowers small or minute and inconspicuous, without petals and
frequently without calyx. In our commoner species, several staminate
flowers, each consisting of a single stamen only, and one pistillate
flower, consisting of a single pedicelled 3-lobed ovary only, are
included within a 4-5-lobed involucre, which is sometimes colored and
resembles a calyx or corolla.
1a. Stem-leaves alternate; inflorescence axillary; flowers with calyx
and several stamens (3-8 dm. tall; flowers greenish or purplish;
summer) (Three-seeded Mercury) --2.
1b. Stem-leaves opposite, usually inequilateral at base; flowers as
described for the family; apparent flowers in axillary clusters
(summer and autumn) (Spurge) --3.
1c. Stem-leaves alternate; inflorescence a terminal umbel-like cluster,
with its branches subtended by opposite or whorled leaves; flowers
as described for the family (Spurge) --9.