DICOTYLEDON KEYS (continued)
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Compositae - Sunflower Family
Herbs or sometimes shrubs. Inflorescence a head. Flowers borne on the enlarged summit of the peduncle and surrounded by the bractsof the involucre. Calyx reduced to a whorl of bristles, awn or scales (the pappus) or wanting. Fruit an akene.
AA Plants not thistle-like
B Flowers all ray; the ligule 5toothed at apex; stems often with milky sap
C Heads solitary, usually on scapes, only 1-2 per plant; plants usually low and more or less glabrous
D Pappus none; leaves grass-like or wider, entire - PHALACROSERIS (Not Edible)
DD Pappus present; leaves various, often toothed to pinnate
E Akenes beaked; leaves mainly capillary bristles, never plumose - AGOSERIS (Not Edible, Bad Taste)
EE Akenes not beaked; leaves filiform or linear, or pinnatified with rachis and divisions linear; pappus awns or more or less plumose scales
F Pappus 15-20 plumose scales or 5 narrow scales tipped by awns - MICROSERIS
FF Pappus 30-50 silvery non-plumose awns - NOTHOCALAIS (Not Edible)
CC Head several to many per plant; plants often very hairy
D At least upper leaves linear; flowers pink to white; pappus white, plumose - STEPHANOMERIA (Not Edible)
DD Leaves oblong, spatulate, lanceolate, etc.; flowers yellow, rarely white
E Pappus of many white soft bristles - CREPIS (Not Edible)
EE Pappus tan to brown and fragile; leaves never lobed - HIERACIUM
BB Head with at least some disc flowers
C Ray flowers none or inconspicuous; phyllaries sometimes white and more or less ray-like
D Pappus none or vestigial
E Heads clustered; plants aromatic
F Shrubs, or if herbs the leaves 2-15 cm long
G Plants with odor of sage; leaves often lobed or dissected - ARTEMISIA
GG Plants smell bad; leaves narrowly linear - MADIA GLOMERATA (Not Edible)
FF Herbs with entire or 3lobed lvs 1-2 cm long - TANACETUM (Not Edible)
EE Heads solitary in axils or on peduncles
F Leaves elliptic, mainly 1-2 cm long; heads axillary - IVA (Not Edible)
FF Leaves usually much larger; heads terminal
G Leaves deltoid, white and wooly beneath, about as long as wide - ADENOCAULON (Not Edible)
GG Leaves usually ovate-laneolate, not white and woolly beneath - WYETHIA INVENUSTA
DD Pappus present
E Phyllaries scarious (white or slightly colored); plants herbaceous; white and woolly
F Stems 2-9 dm high; leaves 2-8 cm long; pappus concealed by phyllaries - ANAPHALIS
FF Stems usually less than 3 dm high; leaves often shorter
G Plants with basal rosette of leaves; pappus conspicuous, usually exserted beyond phyllaries - ANTENNARIA
GG Plants usually without basal rosette; pappus not exserted - GNAPHALIUM (Not Edible)
EE Phyllaries at least partly herbaceous
F Flowers white, greenish, purplish, brownish, or rarely yellowish white
G Head (receptacle) dark and cone shaped, 2-6cm high - RUDBECKIA (Not Edible)
GG Head and receptacle more or less flat
H Pappus of membranous oblong scales
I Annual; leaves linear, entire - OROCHAENACTIS (Not Edible)
II Perennial; leaves usually pinnate - CHAENACTIS (Not Edible)
HH Pappus of numerous usually conspicuous bristles
I Leaves more or less oblanceolate, seesile, alternate - LESSINGIA (Not Edible)
II Leaves deltoid to ovate, more or less petioled, alternate or opposite
J Phyllaries about 5mm long, 1mm wide, barely overlapping - EUPATORIUM (Not Edible)
JJ Phyllaries mainly large, strongly imbricate - BRICKELLIA (Not Edible)
FF Flowers yellow to orange
G Plants woody at least at base
H Phyllaries in one row; flowers 4 per head - TETRADYMIA (Not Edible)
HH Phyllaries in 2 or more rows; flowers mainly more per head
I Phyllaries arranged in more or less vertical rows - CHYRYSOTHMNUS (Not Edible)
II Phyllaries imbricated and unequal - HAPLOPAPPUS (Not Edible)
GG Plants mainly herbaceous throughout
H Leaves opposite - ARNICA (Not Edible)
HH Leaves alternate or basal
I Leaves more or less linear (compound in Erigeron compositus), often all basal
J Pappus bristle plumose - RAILLARDELLA (Not Edible)
JJ Pappus bristle simple - ERIGERON (Not Edible)
II Leaves oblong to broader; stems usually leafy
J Phyllaries in one row, often black tipped; lower leaves peltoid - SENECIO (Not Edible)
JJ Phyllaries in 2-3 rows, not black tipped; leaves sessile - CHRYSOPSIS (Not Edible)
CC Ray flowers present and obvious (rarely short and inconspicuous)
D Pappus none or vestigial
E Phyllaries usually imbricated or at least in more than one series
F Rays usually white; plants aromatic; leaves bipinnate - ACHILLEA
FF Plants not aromatic; leaves simple, usually large
G Receptacle more or less columnar - RUDBECKIA (Not Edible)
GG Receptacle flat or slightly convex
H Leaf base hastate to cordate; pappus none - BALSAMORHIZA
HH Leaves gradually tapering to petiole; pappus of 2 awns - HELIANTHELLA (Not Edible)
EE Phyllaries usually in a single row, not imbricate
F Leaves opposite - WHITNEYA (Not Edible, RARE)
FF Leaves alternate or basal
G Receptacle naked; ray flowers conspicuous - ERIOPHYLLUM LANATUM (Not Edible)
GG Receptacle with ring of bracts between ray and disc flowers, ray flowers occasionally small
H Ray flowers usually 8-12, occasionally less; widespead - MADIA (Not Edible)
HH Ray flowers 5; mainly below 4000' - LAGOPHYLLA (Not Edible)
DD Pappus present
E Rays white to pink, red to purplish (see also Hulsea heterochroma)
F Pappus of plumose bristles; rays 5-10, white - LAYIA (Not Edible)
FF Pappus bristles not plumose; rays various
G Pappus bristles markedly unequal, barbellate; rays 3-15; disk flowers often purple - MACHAERANTHERA (Not Edible)
GG Pappus bristles subequal; rays mainly more than 15; disk flowers yellow
H Pappus much reduced on ray flowers (see also Erigeron strigosus - CORETHROGYNE (Not Edible)
HH Pappus well developed on ray flowers
I Phyllaries usually in 3-4 series, tips often relaxed - ASTER (Not Edible)
II Phyllaries in 1-2 series, tips erect - ERIGERON (Not Edible)
EE Rays yellow to orange or brown
F Pappus usually scales
G Leaves usually 5-30cm long, more or less entire; receptacle subspherical or with persistent scales
H Receptacle subspherical, about 2cm in diameter - HELENIUM (Not Edible)
HH Receptacle convex, smaller, with persistent scales - WYETHIA
GG Leaves 1-8cm long, mainly toothed or divided; receptacle convex, naked
H Phyllaries in 2 or more rows; herbage usually aromatic - HULSEA (Not Edible)
HH Phyllaries uniseriate; herbage not aromatic - ERIOPHYLLUM (Not Edible)
FF Pappus of soft capillary bristles, scales may be present
G Phyllaries many, usually more or less imbricate
H Erect perennials usually from a creeping rhyzome - SOLIDAGO (Not Edible)
HH Shrubs or matted subshrubs or perennials from a large taproot
I Pappus of 10-20 inner bristles and about as many outer scales; eastern Sierra Nevada - ERIGERON (Not Edible)
II Pappus of numerous capillary bristles; straw colored to brownish - HAPLOPAPPUS (Not Edible)
GG Phyllaries fewer or if more at lease not strongly imbricate, mainly subequal and uniseriate
H Leaves opposite except sometimes the uppermost - ARNICA (Not Edible)
HH Leaves alternate or basal
I Plant usually scapose; phyllaries greenish throughout; rays 1-3 (-5), short - RAILLARDELLA SCAPOSA(Not Edible)
II Stems usually leafy; phyllaries often dark tipped; rays mainly more - SENECIO (Not Edible)
Crassulaceae - Stonecrop Family
Leaves fleshy, glabrous, without stipules, entire. Flowers clustered, regular, 4- to 5-merous. Stamens as many or twice as many as petals. Carpels as many as calyx segments, distinct or united at base.
AA Plants perrenial, leaves 5-30 mm long
B Petals 10-20 mm long; flower stems axillary - DUDLEYA
BB Petals less than 10 mm long; flower stems terminal - SEDUM
Cruciferae - Mustard Family
Herbs with pungent watery juice. Leaves alternate, without stipules. Flowers in terminal racemes or corymbs, rarely solitary, terminal. Sepals 4, deciduous; petals 4, forming a cross pattern. Stamens 6 (rarely 4 or 2), 2 of which are shorter than the others. Ovary and fruit usually split into 2 cells by a thin partition.
A Fruit elongate, 3 or more times longer than wide or thick
B Fruit flattened, linear or wider
C plants pubescent, some hairs forked
D Stems more or less glabrous; leaves stellate pubescent; fruit sometimes short - PHOENICAULIS (Not Edible)
DD Stems pubescent at least below
E Fruit usually much longer than wide; values usually 1-nerved - ARABIS (Not Edible)
EE Fruit mainly 3-6 times longer than wide; valves nerveless - DRABA (Not Edible)
CC Plants essentially glabrous; pubescence, if any, simple
D Calyx flask shaped, often colored - STREPTANTHUS (Not Edible)
DD Calyx erect or ascending, not flask shaped
E Plants with fleshy rootstocks; stems leafless in lower half - DENTARIA
EE Plants without fleshy rootstocks; stems leafy or leafless above
F Valves of fruit not nerved; leaves often pinnate - CARDAMINE
FF Valves of fruit 1-nerved; leaves simple - ARABIS (Not Edible)
BB Fruit round or 4-angled in cross section
C Leaves entire to dentate, never lobed
D Petals 15-20 mm long; fruit 4-angled - ERYSIMUM (Not Edible)
DD Petals 5-7 mm long; fruit more or less round - ARABIS GLABRA (Not Edible)
CC Leaves pinnately lobed to pinnately compound
D Plants more or less pubescent; dry habitats
E Fruit 25-60 mm long; petals 6-8 mm long - BRASSICA
EE Fruit less than 15 mm long; petals 2-4 mm long - DESCURAINIA (Not Edible)
DD Plants glabrous; damp to wet habitats
E Stems decumbent; fruit 6-20 mm long - RORIPPA (Not Edible)
EE Stems erect; fruit 20-40 mm long - BARBAREA
AA Fruit 1-3 times longer than thick or wide
B Fruit inflated, not flattened
C Leaves pinnatifid or pinnately lobed
D Flowers white, 4-5 mm long; Lassen Peak - SMELOWSKIA (Not Edible)
DD Flowers yellow, 1-3 mm long; widespread - RORIPPA (Not Edible)
CC Leaves simple, entire or nearly so
D Plants aquatic; rare, central Sierra Nevada - SUBULARIA (Not Edible)
DD Plants terrestrial
E Leaves 2-5 cm long; fruit stellate-pubescent - LESQUERELLA (Not Edible)
EE Leaves usually less than 1 cm long; fruit with mainly simple hairs - DRABA (Not Edible)
BB Fruit evidently flattened
C Fruit with a plain, smooth broad surface
D Flowers solitary at the summit of a leafless stalk - IDAHOA (Not Edible)
DD Flowers in clusters; stems usually leafy
E Leaves 2-5 cm long; fruit 1-seeded - THYSANOCARPUS
EE Leaves less than 2 cm long; fruit 2 to many seeded - DRABA (Not Edible)
CC Fruit with a conspicuous stem or vein extending up the broad surface
D Stems less than 1 dm high; above 10,000 - PHOENICAULIS EURYCARPA (Not Edible)
DD Stems 2-6 dm high; below 8000'
E Fruit heart-shaped, broader distally - CAPSELLA
EE Fruit roundish - LEPIDIUM
Labiatae - Mint Family
Herbs mainly with 4-angled stems and simple leaves. Flowers bilabiate, variously clustered. Calyx persistent, 2-lipped or regular, mainly 5-toothed or -lobed. Stamens on the corolla-tube, mainly 4 in 2 pairs of different lengths.
B Calyx 2-lipped, lips entire; stamens included - SCUTELLARIA (Not Edible)
BB Calyx 5-lobed; stamens much exserted and arched - TRICHOSTEMA (Not Edible)
AA Flowers in dense clusters or whorls
B Leaves coarsely serrate, petioled; flowers in bractless whorls
C Corolla 2-6 mm long, nearly regular - MENTHA
CC Corolla over 10 mm long, strogly asymetric
D Stamens conspicuously exserted; flower-whorls usually clustered - AGASTACHE
DD Stamens more or less included in hood-like upper corolla-lip; at least lower flower-whorls usually remote - STACHYS (Not Edible)
BB Leaves finely serrate to entire, often subsessile; flowers often in bracted heads
C Bracts of inflorescence conspicuous and often colored; inforescence dense
D Corolla 2-lipped; moist habitats - PRUNELLA
DD Corolla more or less regular; dry habiatats - MONDARDELLA
CC Bracts small or none; inflorescence often interrupted
D Leaves long-petioled - SALVIA
DD Leaves more or less sessile
E Leaves 0.2-1.2 cm long; stems less than 4 dm high - POGOGYNE (Not Edible)
EE Leaves 3-8 cm long; stems 6-10 dm high - PYCNANTHEMUM
Umbelliferae - Carrot Family
Aromatic herbs, usually with hollow stems and alternate compound or simple leaves, the petioles oftendilated at the base. Flowers small, perfect or sometimes unisexual. The umbells usually with an involucre of bracts. Sepals usually 5, sometimes obsolete. Petals 5. Ovary inferior. Fruit dry. Occasionally a difficult family to identify without the fruit. Because extremely poisonous and edible plants are found in this family, one should make certain of the identity of a plant before attempting to consume it.
B Herbage spiny; 4000-6100', Nevada County north - ERYNGIUM (Not Edible)
BB Herbage not spiny; above 9000', Placer County south
C Leaves bipinnate, blue-grey, puberulent - CYMOPTERUS
CC Leaves mainly pinnate, yellow-green, more or less glabrous - PODISTERA (Not Edible)
AA Inflorescence a distinct umbel, not capitate
B Ovary and fruit bristly or rarely covered with minute knobs
C Plants perennial; up to 10,000'
D Fruit round, minute; flowers yellow - SANICULA (Not Edible)
DD Fruit torpedo-shaped, 10-20 mm long; flowers greenish yellow to white - OSMORHIZA
CC Plants annual; flowers white; below 5000'
D Rays 2.5-5 cm long; plant 1-3.5 dm high - CAUCALIS
DD Rays mainly 1 cm long; plant 3-8 dm high - DAUCUS (Not Edible)
BB Ovary and fruit not bristly, occasionally winged
C Ribs of fruit not predominantly winged; fruit more or less round in cross section
D Flowers yellow
E Plants without stems; leaves all basal; mainly southern Sierra Nevada - TAUSCHIA (Not Edible)
EE Plants with leafy stem; Madera County north - OSMORHIZA
DD Flowers not yellow but sometimes drying yellow
E Plants with leafy stem, mainly rather tall; involucre usually present
F Stems purple dotted; leaves dissected into small divisions - CONIUM (Not Edible)
FF Stems not purple-dotted; leaves pinnately or ternate-pinnately divided into mainly larger divisions
G Leaves all once pinnate; plants of wet areas
H Leaflets irregularly serrate or lobed; ribs of fruit filiform - BERULA (Not Edible)
HH Leaflets more or less regularly and sharply serrate; ribs of fruit predominant - SIUM
GG Leaves usually further divided, if not then leaflets linear and entire
H Leaflets entire or serrate and lobed; involucre bracts present - PERIDERIDIA
HH Leaflets regularly serrate; involucre bracts none - CICUTA (Not Edible)
EE Plants without stems, mainly less than 1 dm high; leaves all basal; involucre bracts none
F Plants glabrous; leaflets 10-20 mm long; 4000-6000' - OROGENIA
FF Plants gray-pubescent; leaflets 1-3 mm long; above 8000' - OREONANA (Not Edible)
CC At least 2 of the ribs of the fruit with broad wings; fruit more or less flattened
D Stems stout, over 5 dm high; leaves mainly over 15 cm long
E Leaflets 3, 1.5-4 dm long, palmately lobed - HERACLEUM
EE Leaflets many, smaller usually not palmately lobed
F Umbellets capitate; pedicels minute - SPHENOSCIADIUM (Not Edible)
FF Inflorescence a distinct compound umbel with conspicuous pedicels
G Leaves simply pinnate into usually ovate leaflets; wet habitats - OXYPOLIS (Not Edible)
GG Leaves much dissected into oblong to linear divisions; moist to dry habitats
H Flowers yellow to purple; leaves mainly basal - LOMATIUM DISSECTUM
HH Flowers white to pinkish; stem leaves several to many - ANGELICA
DD Stems slender or none, mainly less than 5 dm high; leaves less than 15 cm long
E Flowers white to pinkish - LIGUSTICUM (Not Edible)
EE Flowers yellow to purplish
F Lateral ribs of fruit winged, the dorsal ribs filiform - LOMATIUM
FF All ribs or fruit winged - PTERYXIA (Not Edible)
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