Flora of North America species comparison

unarmed.

blade undivided or more commonly divided or compound, base cordate, sometimes truncate or cuneate, margins entire, toothed, or incised;

venation pinnate or palmate.

blade undivided or 1-3-pinnately or -ternately compound;

leaf or leaflets cordate to orbiculate, oblong, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, lobed or unlobed, margins entire or toothed.

terminal or axillary, racemes, cymes, umbels, panicles, or spikes, or flowers solitary, flowers pedicellate or sessile.

axillary and/or terminal, 1-many-flowered cymes or panicles or flowers solitary or in fascicles, to 15 cm;

bracts present and leaflike or ± scalelike or absent, not forming involucre.

bisexual, sometimes unisexual, inconspicuous or showy, radially or bilaterally symmetric;

sepaloid bracteoles absent;

perianth hypogynous;

sepals usually imbricate, 3-6(-20), distinct, often petaloid and colored, occasionally spurred;

petals 0-26, distinct (connate in Consolida), plane, cup-shaped, funnel-shaped, or spurred, conspicuous or greatly reduced;

nectary usually present, rarely absent;

stamens 5-many, distinct;

anthers dehiscing longitudinally;

staminodes absent (except in Aquilegia and Clematis);

pistils 1-many;

styles present or absent, often persistent in fruit as beak.

bisexual or unisexual, radially symmetric;

sepals not persistent in fruit, 4, white, blue, violet, red, yellow, or greenish, plane, ovate to obovate or linear, 6-60 mm;

petals absent;

sometimes anther-bearing staminodes between sepals and stamens;

stamens many;

filaments filiform to flattened;

pistils 5-150, simple;

ovule 1 per pistil;

beak present.

achenes, follicles, or rarely utricles, capsules, or berries, often aggregated into globose to cylindric heads.

achenes, aggregate, sessile, lenticular, nearly terete, or flattened-ellipsoid, sides not prominently veined;

beak terminal, straight or curved, 12-110 mm.

1-many per ovary, never stalked, not arillate;

endosperm abundant;

embryo usually small.

, ± woody, sometimes only at base, climbing by means of tendril-like petioles and leaf rachises, or erect, herbaceous perennials, from elongate rhizomes.

= 8.