e-Key v3 - Key to Lamiaceae Genera
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Interactive keys to the identification of seed plants of southern Africa using keys based on plant morphology.
Backtrack a
  • Fruit dry and hard, turbinate, flat above, with 4 small horns in a cross, at length dividing into 4 pyrenes
  • Calyx accrescent to form a plate-like structure in fruit
Karomia
b
  • Fruit a drupe or nutlet
  • Calyx sometimes accrescent in fruit
002
Backtrack a
  • Fruit a drupe
002
b
  • Fruit composed of 4 (or by abortion fewer) nutlets
002
Backtrack a
  • Leaves palmately compound with (1-)3-5 leaflets
Vitex
b
  • Leaves simple
002
Backtrack a
  • Fruit an entire drupe containing a single, 4-locular pyrene
Premna
b
  • Fruit a 4-lobed or -furrowed drupe with 4 pyrenes
Clerodendrum
Backtrack a
  • Corolla 1-lipped or very unequally 2-lipped, with the upper lip small or absent
  • Ovary shortly 4-lobed or lobed to the middle
  • Nutlets reticulate with oblique or lateral areole occupying half to three-quarters of the length
002
b
  • Corolla 2-lipped or nearly regularly lobed
  • Ovary deeply 4-lobed
  • Nutlets smooth with small basal or slightly oblique areole
002
Backtrack a
  • Calyx 2-lipped, inflated in fruit, lips entire
  • Stamens not or scarcely exserted
  • Nutlets winged
Tinnea
b
  • Calyx subequally 5-toothed
  • Stamens exserted, ascending
  • Nutlets not winged
002
Backtrack a
  • Inflorescence a spike-like raceme arising from a basal rosette of leaves
  • Flowers in 2-many-flowered verticils, bluish
Ajuga
b
  • Inflorescence racemose or paniculate with no basal rosette of leaves
  • Flowers small, white, in 1-several-flowered pedunculate cymes
Teucrium
Backtrack a
  • Stamens ascending or spreading, never all directed downwards upon lower side of tube or lower lip of the corolla (absent in female flowers of Tetradenia )
002
b
  • Stamens directed downwards upon the lower side of the corolla tube or lower lip of the corolla
002
Backtrack a
  • Fertile stamens 2, anther thecae separated by a long connective
  • Calyx 2-lipped
Salvia
b
  • Fertile stamens 4
  • Calyx 2-lipped or 5-many-toothed
002
Backtrack a
  • Stamens spreading, filaments straight, with 2 directed upwards and 2 downwards (absent in female flowers of Tetradenia)
  • Corolla small, 2-5 mm long, subequally 4- or 5-lobed
002
b
  • Stamens all directed to upper side of tube or upper lip of corolla
  • Corolla 5 mm long or longer (sometimes shorter in Scutellaria, but then calyx distinctly 2-lipped with upper lip deciduous)
002
Backtrack a
  • Perennial rhizomatous herbs, monoecious
Mentha
b
  • Semisucculent or softly woody shrubs, usually flowering after leaves are shed, dioecious
Tetradenia
Backtrack a
  • Calyx 2-lipped
  • Perennial decumbent herbs
002
b
  • Calyx regularly or irregularly 5-many-toothed, mouth sometimes oblique but not distinctly 2-lipped (obscurely 2-lipped in some Leucas species but calyx 6-10-toothed)
002
Backtrack a
  • Calyx lips rounded, entire, upper lip deciduous
  • Inflorescence of lax, 2-flowered verticils
  • Corolla 4.5-6.0 mm long
* Scutellaria
b
  • Calyx lips toothed, upper broad with 3 short teeth, lower of 2 longer narrow teeth
  • Inflorescence shortly spicate of densely placed 4-6-flowered verticils
  • Corolla 9-10 mm long
* Prunella
Backtrack a
  • Leaves 3(-5)-foliolate
* Cedronella
b
  • Leaves simple
002
Backtrack a
  • Corolla usually orange or yellow, rarely cream
  • Upper lobe 12-30 mm long
  • Calyx 8-10-toothed
Leonotis
b
  • Corolla not orange or yellow
  • Upper lobe shorter than 10 mm
002
Backtrack a
  • Stamens included in corolla tube
002
b
  • Stamens reaching mouth of corolla tube or exserted (stamens included in cleistogamous flowers of Lamium amplexicaule but then bracts amplexicaul)
002
Backtrack a
  • Anthers and style held together by intermingling hairs
  • Calyx glabrous within
  • Teeth not hooked at apex
Acrotome
b
  • Anthers and style not held together by intermingling hairs
  • Calyx hairy within, teeth hooked at apex
* Marrubium
Backtrack a
  • Calyx 6-many-toothed (teeth often very unequal in size)
002
b
  • Calyx subequally 5-toothed
002
Backtrack a
  • Calyx glabrous within, 6-10-toothed, often oblique at mouth but limb not spreading
Leucas
b
  • Calyx hairy within, 10- or more toothed, limb eventually spreading
Ballota
Backtrack a
  • Calyx 13(-15)-ribbed
  • Stamens arising near corolla throat with very short upcurved filaments
Satureja
b
  • Calyx 5-10-ribbed
  • Stamens arising within corolla and usually well exserted
002
Backtrack a
  • Bracts large, amplexicaul (in naturalised species)
  • Upper corolla lip longer than the lower
  • Lower corolla lip with lateral lobes absent or reduced to small acute teeth
* Lamium
b
  • Bracts leaf-like or reduced, not amplexicaul
  • Corolla lips subequal or lower lip the longer and with distinct ± obtuse lateral lobes
002
Backtrack a
  • Bracts leaf-like
  • Calyx often with additional smaller teeth (5-8-toothed)
  • Upper lip of corolla subequal to lower and beset with stiff, brush-like hairs
Leucas
b
  • Bracts usually reduced, occasionally leaf-like
  • Calyx always 5-toothed
  • Upper lip of corolla glabrous or pubescent but not with stiff, brush-like hairs, usually shorter than horizontal lower lip
Stachys
Backtrack a
  • Calyx enlarged and fleshy in fruit
  • Upper pair of stamens reduced to staminodes
Hoslundia
b
  • Calyx somewhat enlarged but not fleshy in fruit
  • All 4 stamens fertile (upper pair reduced to staminodes in Plectranthus zuluensis )
002
Backtrack a
  • Calyx falling away by a clean break above base in fruit
Aeollanthus
b
  • Calyx persistent in fruit, 3-5-toothed or bilabiate
002
Backtrack a
  • Corolla with 4 subequal or slightly unequal lobes, not distinctly 2-lipped
  • Stamens included in corolla tube
Endostemon
b
  • Corolla either distinctly 2-lipped or 5-lobed
  • Stamens exserted
002
Backtrack a
  • Calyx with 5 equal, rigid, spine-like teeth
  • Flowers in a dense, terminal, spike-like inflorescence
Pycnostachys
b
  • Calyx not rigidly spinescent
002
Backtrack a
  • Calyx equally or subequally 5-toothed, uppermost tooth sometimes slightly larger than other 4
002
b
  • Calyx bilabiate
002
Backtrack a
  • Bracteoles linear, setose
  • Calyx teeth linear-subulate
  • Corolla small, ± equally 5-lobed
* Hyptis
b
  • Bracteoles absent or not as above
  • Calyx teeth not linear-subulate
  • Corolla bilabiate
002
Backtrack a
  • Lower pair of stamens united for most of their length, upper pair arising in corolla tube, free
Syncolostemon
b
  • Lower and upper pairs of stamens arising at corolla throat, free or all shortly united at base
002
Backtrack a
  • Bracts differentiated from and smaller than leaves
002
b
  • Bracts leaf-like, becoming gradually smaller towards apex of inflorescence or towards ends of flower-bearing stems
002
Backtrack a
  • Style bilobed
  • Inflorescence paniculate or subspicate with flowers in verticils of 3-many-flowered cymes or dichasia
Plectranthus
b
  • Style with entire stigma
  • Inflorescence paniculate with slender branches somewhat zigzag towards ends and bearing solitary flowers
Holostylon
Backtrack a
  • Stems softly herbaceous, decumbent or erect
  • Flowers in slender, lax, axillary racemes borne along almost entire length of stem
Englerastrum
b
  • Stems semiwoody, erect
  • Inflorescence dense, paniculate or spicate
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers in 6-8-flowered verticils, densely arranged in short lateral and terminal spikes
Neohyptis
b
  • Flowers in dichasia arranged in a terminal panicle
Rabdosiella
Backtrack a
  • Upper lip of calyx 3-toothed (teeth sometimes minute), lower lip 2-toothed or entire
002
b
  • Upper lip of calyx consisting of a large, oblong to broadly ovate tooth, often decurrent on tube, distinctly larger than remaining teeth
002
Backtrack a
  • Inflorescence corymbose, flower-heads capitate, 8-10 mm long and almost equally broad
Acrocephalus
b
  • Inflorescence spike-like, 50-100 mm long
  • Flowers in dense many-flowered cymose clusters
Geniosporum
Backtrack a
  • Upper pair of filaments glabrous or pubescent but without a crested or hairy knee-bend near base
002
b
  • Upper pair of filaments with a crested or hairy knee-bend near base
002
Backtrack a
  • Lower 2 calyx teeth fused for the greater part forming an oblong bifurcate lip
  • Lateral teeth much shorter and rounded
Solenostemon
b
  • Lower 4 calyx teeth subequal, lanceolate-deltoid, lower 2 often longer than lateral 2 and shortly fused at base
002
Backtrack a
  • Filaments of lower pair of stamens connate for part of their length, upper pair attached to corolla tube and free
Hemizygia
b
  • Filaments all free or all connate at base
002
Backtrack a
  • Corolla about 2 mm long, obscurely bilabiate
  • Lower lip almost flat
Basilicum
b
  • Corolla 4 mm long or longer, bilabiate
  • Lower lip concave to boat-shaped
002
Backtrack a
  • Corolla with 2 narrow pendulous lobes on each side of and free from upper lip
  • Flowers solitary in axils of somewhat leafy bracts
Thorncroftia
b
  • Corolla with upper lip having 2 ear-like lobes
  • Flowers in 1-many-flowered verticils or cymes, never all solitary
002
Backtrack a
  • Upper calyx tooth not decurrent on tube
  • Filaments arising at mouth of corolla tube
  • Mostly herbaceous plants
Plectranthus
b
  • Upper calyx tooth decurrent on tube
  • Upper pair of filaments arising within corolla tube
  • Woody plants
Orthosiphon
Backtrack a
  • Lower pair of calyx teeth fused or free but not ending in a small pair of upcurved spinescent teeth
  • Lateral teeth small, deltoid-subulate
Ocimum
b
  • Lower pair of calyx teeth fused into a lip ending in a small pair of upcurved spinescent teeth
  • Lateral teeth suppressed and replaced by a wide shoulder-like and occasionally fimbriate sinus
Becium

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