| Class: | angiosperms |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Editor | G. Laskov, Februar 2013 |
| Name acc. to: | APGII |
| Herbar: | list records    |
| Description: | Leaves simple, sometimes graslike, normally opposite. Flowers regular, pistil with 3 or 5 styles. Fruit a capsule with central placenta. |
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| genus: 23 |
| species: 88 |
| Habit (i)general appearance of a plant | |
| Parasite status: (i)Is the plant a half- or full parasite? | no parasite/saprophyte (i)Plant fully autonomous, leaves with chlorophyll
example: Most plants, Ranunculus
Parasite/saprophyte (i)Plant not or not fully autonomous, leaves often without chlorophyll
example: Cuscuta, Corallorhiza, Epipogium (holomycotrophic)c
semi-parasite (i)Plant with chlorophyll in green leaves, but roots suck on other plants
example: Melampyrum, Odontites, Pedicularis
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| Water or terrestrial plant: (i)Where do the plants grow? | terrestrial (i)Plant grows on dry land
example: Orostachys spinosa
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| Leaf (i)expanded, usually photosynthetic organ of a plant (including phylloclades) | |
| Leaf development: (i)Structure and development of leaves. | with green leaves (i)Plant with green leaves
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| Leaf arrangement: (i)Arrangement of leaves at the stem. | opposite, opposite-decussate (i)Two leaves per node
example: Lamiaceae, e.g. Phlomis  
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| Simple or divided leaves: (i)Are the leaves simple or completely divided in several parts? Blade of the leaf entire or (more or less) deeply dissected. Attention: There are various appearances of the leaf margin (from entire to toothed and lobed). Here, we ignore this and ask only for dissections that separate the leaf for more than one third of its length or width, whatever is smaller. Sometimes, it is difficult to tell apart compound leaves from a shoot system with simple leaves: look for stipulae and/or axillary buds at the ground of the leaves: if only some possess these structures, the others are most likely leaflets of a compound leaf. | simple (i)Non-divided leaf, but margin may be incised nearly to the ground 
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| Leaf apex: (i)Appearance of the tip of leaf resp. leaflets in compound leaves. | acuminate (i)Gradually tapering to a (sharp) point
example: Populus laurifolia? 
aristate (i)Bearing a more or less distinctive bristle as appearing as continuation of the main vein at the tip
example: Galium verum  
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| Leaf margin: (i)Structure of leaf margin (or that of a leaflet in case of compound leaves). Attention: Here we ask for the leaf margin, defined as all those dissections that separate the leaf for less than one third of its length or width, whatever is smaller. To be worked out: how to handle margin of pinnate leaves? | entire (i)Plain margin, not toothed
example: Iris 
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| Leaf base: (i)The angle the leaf blade forms with a real or imaginary (sessile leaves) petiole. Attention: Here, we consider only the base of leaves or leaflets (in case of compound leaves). | narrow (i)Angle < 30° 
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| Stipule: (i)Leaflets at the base of the petiole, these are smaller and of different shape. | none (i)Without stipules
example: Euphorbia, Ericaceae s.l.
pair (i)A pair of free stipulae
example: Lathyrus, Trifolium 
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| Leaf colour upper side: (i)Shades of green on the leaf, upper side. | green (i)Clear green
example: Tribulus terrestris
bluish (i)With bluish hues, (often due to wax layers)
example: Leymus arenarius
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| Leaf colour lower side: (i)Shades of green on the leaf, lower side. | green (i)Clear green, in most species
example: Angelica decurrens
bluish (=glaucous?) (i)With bluish hues, (often due to wax layers)
example: Ligularia glauca
reddish (i)With red hues, especially on veins
example: Chenopodium
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| Leaf veination: (i)Arrangement of the main veins of a leaf. | parallel (i)Most veins arranged parallel to the length of leaf, mostly no pronounced main vein (usually in elongate to linear leaves)
example: Most Monocotyledonae, Plantago, Veratrum, a lot of Caryophyllaceae looks like that. 
pinnate (i)One main vein, several side veins, sometimes inconspicuous
example: Cicerbita   
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| Flower (i)reproductive portion of the plant, consisting of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils | |
| Flower appearance and pollination: (i)General appearance of the flower. | not attractive, wind-pollinated or some water plants (i)Small, colourless or green flowers
example: Betula, grasslike plants: Carex, Setaria, Juncus
attractive, animal-pollinated (i)attractive and coloured flowers, mostly large, attracting surely animals
example: Trollius, Rosa, Chamaerhodos
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| Flower colour: (i)Attention: assess colour of the most colourful parts of the flower, but not of the stamens; be aware of single plants with a mutation (mostly white) on flower colour. | greenish (i)petals absent or not distinctly different from colours of leaves, only stigmas (white) or anthers (yellow) may differ in color
example: Chenopodium, Triglochin
white (i)Most plants of the population white
example: Pleurospermum, Maianthemum
red (i)Reddish (also orange) to deep red
example: Lilium, Rhododendrum
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| Perianth arrangement: (i)Attention: in some plants, flowers may be dimorphic in different ways (dioecious or gynodioecious). If flowers vary, record the characters of the most showy flowers. | double, different (i)Two types of perianth leaves, differently coloured (sepals: outer periant leaves, usually greenish, and petals: inner perianth leaves, usually coloured)
example: Parnassia  
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| Diameter of flower: (i)Diameter of flower or flower head. | to 5 mm (i)
example: Aruncus
from 5 mm to 10 mm (i)
example: Stellaria
from 10 mm to 20 mm (i)
example: Potentilla
from 20 mm to 40 mm (i)
example: Aquilegia
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| Flower symmetry: (i)Symmetry of the perianth leaves. Attention: to assess this character, look on sepals, petals and stamens, but neglect carpels and ovary. | radiary, regular (actinomorphic) (i)More than two axis of symmetry
example: Saxifraga: 5; Iris: 3 
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| Flower form: (i)common forms of flowers ? Veronica | simple (flat) - Do not confuse with inflorescences as in some Asteraceae (i)Petals spread out, flower appearing flat
example: Mollugo, Trientalis, Pulsatilla, Saxifraga 
tubular to funnel-shaped (i)Petals form a tube, are often partially united to a cylindrical corolla, often surrounded by a calyx 
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| Sepal number: (i)Number of sepal leaves (outer perianth leaves, calyx leaves, mostly greenish). Attention, this character applies only for flowers separated in sepals and petals, thus excluding most monocots. Be aware of the bracts (involucral leaves) of Asteraceae flowerheads, do not qualify these as sepals! Be also aware in Rosaceae is often an epicalyx developed, in this case count all parts. | 4 (i)
example: Sinapis
5 (i)
example: Polemonium
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| Sepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the sepal leaves connected? Attention, this character applies only for flowers separated in sepals and petals, thus excluding most monocots. Be aware of the bracts (involucral leaves) of Asteraceae flowerheads, do not qualify these as sepals! | free (i)All leaves separate from each other
example: Geranium
fused (i)Leaves united, only tips are free
example: Fabaceae, Silene  
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| Petal / Tepal number: (i)Number of petal leaves (inner perianth leaves, usually coloured). | 4 (i)
example: Galium
5 (i)
example: Potentilla
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| Petal / Tepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the petal leaves connected? Petals sympetalous. | free (i)all petal leaves separate from each other
example: Anthriscus
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| Spur: (i)A hollow, slender, sac-like appendage of the perianth leaves, storing nectar. | no spur (i)Flower without appendage
example: Peganum
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| Stamen number: (i)Attention: We ask for the reproductive organs of the flower dispersing pollen. Count only fully fertile stamens, not staminodia (e.g. Parnassia). | 5 (i)
example: Peucedanum
10 (i)
example: Silene
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| Stamen fusion: (i)To which degree are the stamens fused? Attention: Whereas the pollen sacs itself are often free., their stalks (filaments) may be fused. Here, we count them as fused if they are together over at least one thirth of their length. | free (i)Stamens with separate bases
example: Malus
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| Pistil number: (i)Number of pistils (female floral organs: style, if developed; stigma and carpels/ovary together build the pistil). | 2 (i)Two stigmas, often cleaved like a snakes tongue
example: Salvia, Arnica, Bupleurum, Bromus, Saxifraga, Veronica
3 (i)Three stigmas, usually in a triangle
example: Stellaria, Euphorbia, Campanula, Allium
4 (i)Four stigmas, usually in a rectangle
example: Epilobium
5 (i)Five stigmas, usually in a whorl
example: Cerastium
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| Carpel fusion: (i)To which degree are the carpels (modified leaf forming simple pistil or part of a compound pistil) fused. | fused (i)Carpels united into an ovary, only styles are free
example: Malus, Berberis
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| Ovary position: (i)For entirely or partly fused carpels, describe their position in relation to the insertion point of perianth leaves (best done by doing a longitudinal section of a flower). | superior (hypogynous) (i)Base of carpels attached above insertion point of perianth leaves, carpels free or fused
example: Delphinium, Anemone  
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| Sex: (i)Distribution of male and female organs among flowers, only most commonly cases. | bisexual, hermaphrodite (i)All or nearly all flowers of a plant with male and female parts
example: Haplophyllum, Chenopodium
unisexual (i)
example: Rhodiola
dioecious (i)Male and female flowers at different individuals
example: Antennaria
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| Inflorescence (i)flowering part of a plant, describes the arrangement of the flowers on the flowering axis | |
| Inflorescence: (i)Structure of the inflorescence. | Flowers in inflorescence (i)No solitary flowers
Solitary flowers (i)Each flower grows on an own leafy stem there may be more than one, if the plant has many leafy shoots
example: Viola, Saxifraga hirculus, Rubus arcticus
Simple inflorescences (i)Flowers sessile on a main shoot or on short to long not branched side shoots
example: Polygonum bistorta  
Compound inflorescences (i)Flowers on shoots of higher orders (complex branched)
example: Solidago 
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| Appearance: (i)Outer look of the inflorescence. | terminal (i)Inflorescence is the highest point of the plant and may consist of a single flower only
example: Cypripedium, Rhaponticum, Ligularia sibirica, Echinops
axillary (i)Usually several inflorescences in axillary shoots or single flowers in leaf axils, main shoot remains mostly leafy
example: Tragopogon, Aconogonon
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| Inflorescence type: (i)Types of inflorescence. Attention: We here ask for the botanical nomenclature of inflorescences, which is sufficiently complicated. Tick only, if you are certain, or tick all inflorescence types that appear similar of these of the plant in question. | others (in traits_comments nicht aufgeführt) (i)Not as above
example: Sparganium: globose capitate
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| Fruit (i)the seed bearing organ, with or without adnate parts; a ripened ovary and any other structures which are attached and ripen with it. Aggregate fruits are handled like simple fruits for determination. | |
| Consistency: (i)Fleshy fruits or dry fruits, see dispersal adaptations for further classification. | dry (i)With a dry outer shell, no fleshy parts, but seed (embryo) could be edible
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| Type of fruit: (i)Common fruit types (including pseudocarp). | Solitary fruits (i)   
capsule (i)Dry dehiscent fruit, releasing seeds by slits or holes.
example: Poppy, most Caryophyllaceae, Cerastium, a lot of Scrophulariaceae, Iris (oppened capsule looks like Delphinium), Zygophyllum - it is a very common fruit type   
Dehiscent fruits (i)Fruits open along a longitudinale line (except silicula)
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| Opening of fruit: (i)Mode of dehiscence at maturity to release seeds. | opening along dehiscent line (i)Opening along a preformed line
example: Vicia, Lathyrus: pods
opening with valves (i)Capsules, siliqua, pods or follicles; opening with two or more dehiscent lines and split off outer parts as valves
example: Alyssum, Arabis: siliqua, Epilobium: four-valved capsule, Arenaria: capsule with three valves.   
opening / dehiscent (i)Dry? Fruits opening with different types
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| Size of fruit: (i)Size of the fruit including appendage. | to 5 mm (i)
example: Halerpestes: many folicles forming dry nutlets
from 5 mm to 10 mm (i)
example: Silene: small capsule opening with teeth
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| Dispersal: (i)Appearance of fruit or seed (if single) and adaptations to dispersal. | Otherwise (i)All parts dry, no conspicuous adaptations
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| Seed number: (i)Estimate the number of seeds per fruit, if recognizable seeds are in the fruit (in rare cases a fruit may contain one seeded nuts: rose hip, carex). | 7-50 (i)Numerable, but may be counted
example: Vaccinum: multi-seeded berry, Ptilotrichum: few-seeded siliqua
>50 (i)Innumerable, impossible to count (usually very fine seeds)
example: Papaver: many-seeded capsule, Hesperis: many-seeded siliqua
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| Root / shoot below ground (i)plant part below ground (in most cases), including below ground shoots, without leaves | |
| Root type: (i)Organisation of the roots. | allorhizous (i)Plant with a conspicuous tap root, one larger tap root with side roots
example: Dicotyledonae  inherited by order Caryophyllales: allorhizous
one larger tap root with side roots (allorhizous) (i)Plant with a conspicuous tap root
example: Scorzonera
many equal roots (homorhizous or creeping rhizome) (i)Monocotyledons and dicotyledons with creeping rhizomes and roots of nearly equal diameter
example: Stipa
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| Runners: (i)Plant must be excavated; shoots, subterranean shoots connected by runners. | none (i)No runners or stolos visible
example: Dactylorhiza
short rhizoms (tussocks) (i)Plants grow new shoots immediately beside the old ones, forming dense clusters, called tussocks
example: Stipa
stolons (i)Plants creep with above-ground shoots (stolons) which can root and establish new plants
example: Potentilla arenaria, P. anserina 
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| Storage in below-ground structures: (i)Rhizomes or bulbs. | none (i)Plant with non-thickened roots, their maximum diameter does not exceed the diameter of the shoot base
example: Anabasis brevifolia
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