e-Key v3 - Ke<span id="jodit_selection_marker_1706617064988_45076488933924863" data-jodit_selection_marker="start" style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span>y to Celastr<span id="jodit_selection_marker_1706617064989_24535289838816388" data-jodit_selection_marker="end" style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span>aceae 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 capsular or follicle-like, dehiscent when dry and mature
  • Seeds arillate or without aril
b
  • Fruit indehiscent
  • Seeds without an aril
Backtrack a
  • Plants with spines
  • Leaves fasciculate on brachyblasts, at least on older branches
b
  • Plants without spines
  • Leaves alternate or opposite, never fasciculate
Backtrack a
  • Suffrutices, shrubs or small trees
  • Flowers nearly always functionally unisexual with staminodes in female, and pistillodes in male flowers
  • Ovules 2(3) per locule
  • Ovary (2)3(4)-locular
  • Seeds completely or incompletely enveloped by a well or weakly developed aril, or aril only a basal rim
b
  • Shrubs or woody climbers
  • Flowers always bisexual
  • Ovules 3-12 per locule
  • Ovary always 3-locular
  • Seeds completely enveloped by a well-developed aril
Backtrack a
  • Small shrubs
  • Spines always leafy and floriferous, with more than one node per spine
  • Leaves with venation obsolete, margin entire
  • Disc cream, brown-spotted
  • Ovules usually fewer than 6 per locule
  • Aril pink
b
  • Shrubs or woody climbers
  • Spines occasionally leafy and floriferous, when leafy not more than one node per spine
  • Leaves with venation conspicuous, margin with few teeth in distal half, occasionally subentire
  • Disc green
  • Ovules usually 6 or more per locule
  • Aril orange
Backtrack a
  • Ericoid shrublets
  • Leaves scattered, needle-like
  • Capsule follicle-like, dehiscing entirely along one suture
b
  • Trees, shrubs or lianes
  • Leaves not needle-like
  • Capsule dehiscing entirely along 2 or 3 sutures
Backtrack a
  • Leaves alternate
  • Seeds ellipsoid, with or without membranous aril
b
  • Leaves opposite, at least on flowering shoots
  • Seeds flattened or irregularly shaped, with wings, aril reduced or absent
Backtrack a
  • Capsules with wing-like emergences
b
  • Capsules smooth or verruculose, without wing-like emergences
Backtrack a
  • Leaves large, usually > 70 mm long
  • Ovary almost completely immersed in disc
  • Seeds exarillate
b
  • Leaves small, usually < 70 mm long
  • Ovary almost free or up to half immersed in disc
  • Seeds covered by a thin membranous aril
Backtrack a
  • Capsule expanded laterally, forming 3 dehiscent mericarps, each dehiscing by median suture into 2 caducous valves
  • Seeds with or without wings
  • Stamens (2)3(4), inside disc or disc absent
b
  • Capsule elongated, narrow, dehiscing loculicidally in 3 valves
  • Seeds winged, aril reduced or absent
  • Stamens 5, outside disc
Backtrack a
  • Seeds with wings
  • Leaves narrowly elliptic to elliptic, very rarely widely ovate
b
  • Seeds without wings, aril reduced or absent
  • Leaves widely elliptic to ovate
Backtrack a
  • Fruit drupaceous
  • Leaves alternate, opposite or fasciculate
b
  • Fruit baccate or small and nut-like
  • Leaves opposite or subopposite, rarely alternate
Backtrack a
  • Endocarp thick and woody (stone)
  • Leaves usually opposite or fasciculate, glabrous
  • Sepals ± subcircular with margin entire
b
  • Endocarp thin and crustaceous
  • Leaves alternate, pubescent or glabrous
  • Sepals ± deltoid with laciniate margin
Backtrack a
  • Latex threads evident in leaves and bark on pulling parts apart
  • Fruit white or yellow
b
  • Latex threads absent
  • Fruit red or reddish
Backtrack a
  • Fruit small, nut-like and asymmetrical with persistent lateral style or stylar scar
  • Ovules 2-4 per locule
b
  • Fruit baccate
Backtrack a
  • Fruit often large and globose, 1-20-seeded
  • Seeds (pyrenes?) irregular, large
  • Ovary with 2-8 ovules per locule
b
  • Fruit usually smaller, globose or ellipsoid, 1-3(-6)-seeded
  • Ovary with 2 ovules per locule
Backtrack a
  • Ovules pendulous
  • Sepals vestigial
  • Leaves coriaceous with margin revolute
b
  • Ovules erect
  • Sepals normal
  • Leaves variously textured with margin plane or occasionally revolute
Backtrack a
  • Shrubs or trees
  • Inflorescence a compound dichasium
  • Flowers pedicellate
  • Ovary 2- or 3-locular
  • Ripe fruit light to dark brown or purplish, succulent or ± fleshy
b
  • Lianes, scrambling shrubs or small trees
  • Inflorescence a compact dichasium or thyrsoid
  • Flowers sessile
  • Ovary 2-locular
  • Ripe fruit red or purple, fleshy or leathery
Backtrack a
  • Lianes or scrambling shrubs
  • Leaves opposite to alternate
  • Inflorescence a compact dichasium
  • Flowers 5-merous
  • Sepals triangular, coriaceous
  • Berries elliptic
b
  • Lianes, scrambling shrubs or small trees
  • Leaves opposite
  • Inflorescence thyrsoid with simple or compound cymules arranged along the axis
  • Flowers 4- or 5-merous
  • Sepals ± suborbicular, fleshy
  • Berries spheroid