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 deeply palmately divided, round to pentagonal or reniform, margins entire or lobes apically crenate or lacerate, lobes of basal blades wider and fewer than those of cauline blades.

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

terminal, 2-100(-more)-flowered racemes (occasionally branched, thus technically panicles), 5-40 cm or more;

bracts subtending inflorescence branches;

pedicels present or absent;

bracteoles (on pedicels) subopposite-subalternate, 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, bilaterally symmetric;

sepals not persistent in fruit, 5;

upper sepal 1, spurred, 8-24 mm;

lateral sepals 2, ± ovate to elliptic, 8-18 mm;

lower sepals 2, similar to lateral sepals;

upper petals 2, spurred, enclosed in upper sepal, nectary inside tip of spur;

lower petals 2, plane, ± ovate, ± 2-lobed, clawed, 2-12 mm, nectary absent;

stamens 25-40;

filaments with base expanded;

staminodes absent between stamens and pistils;

pistils 3(-5), simple;

ovules 8-20 per pistil;

style present.

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

follicles, aggregate, sessile, ± curved-cylindric, sides prominently veined or not;

beak terminal, straight, 2-4 mm.

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

endosperm abundant;

embryo usually small.

dark brown to black (often appearing white because of air in seed coat cells), rectangular to pyramidal, often ± rough surfaced.

= 8.