| Class: | angiosperms |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Trilliaceae |
| Genus: | Paris |
| Scientific name: | Paris quadrifolia L. |
| Name acc. to: | Gubanov 1996 |
| Link to Flora of China: | http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=2&name_str=Paris+quadrifolia |
| open map in a new window |  |
| Habitat: | Larch forests and their fringes, birch groves, waterside shrubberies (Grubov 2001). |
| Habit (i)general appearance of a plant | |
| Growth form: (i)Herb, shrub, tree or climber. | herb (i)Herbaceous, erect plant, up to 2m high, mostly with a leafy shoot; if perennial, shoots die to the ground each season, shoots are not woody
example: Artemisia pectinata 
perennial (i)Living for several to many years, as opposed to annual and biennial
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| Size of plant: (i)Attention: use flowering or fruiting specimens to assess plant height (many biennial plants possess only a basal rosette in the first year). | from 250 mm to 600 mm
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| 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  inherited by family Trilliaceae: no parasite/saprophyte
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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. | flattened blade (i)Cross-section of lamina flat, plain inherited by family Trilliaceae: flattened blade
common leaf (i)Green, often divided in blade and petiole
example: Cotoneaster inherited by family Trilliaceae: common leaf
with green leaves (i)Plant with green leaves
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| Leaf arrangement: (i)Arrangement of leaves at the stem. | whorled or fascicled (i)Three or more leaves per node or leaves crowded.
example: Galium, Nitraria 
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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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| Shape of blade: (i)Easy for simple leaves. In compound leaves use the general shape of leaflet. Always check the ground for largest leaves of a plant. To be worked out: how to handle pinnate leaves? | elliptic (including ovate and obovate) (i)Elliptic: broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends; ovate: egg-shaped, attached at the broad end; obovate: attached at the narrower end
example: Limosella aquatica 
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| Length of leaves: (i)How long is the leaf, be carefull in compound leaves, measure the complete leaf. | more than 50 mm
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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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| Petiole: (i)Leaf divided into stalk (petiole) and blade. | without (i)Leaves without petiole (stalk), sessile
example: Poaceae, Iris 
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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.
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| Leaf veination: (i)Arrangement of the main veins of a leaf. | 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. | attractive, animal-pollinated (i)attractive and coloured flowers, mostly large, attracting surely animals
example: Trollius, Rosa, Chamaerhodos inherited by family Trilliaceae: attractive, animal-pollinated
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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
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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. | simple, similar (i)Only one type of perianth leaves (tepals)
example: Tulipa  inherited by family Trilliaceae: simple, similar
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   inherited by family Trilliaceae: double, different
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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 
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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
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| Petal / Tepal number: (i)Number of petal leaves (inner perianth leaves, usually coloured). | 4 (i)
example: Galium
>6 (i)
example: Halerpestes, Trientalis
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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 inherited by family Trilliaceae: no spur
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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). | 7-9 (i)
example: Trientalis, Sedum
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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). | 1 (i)One carpel, but clearly one stigma
example: Pyrola, Primula, Alyssum
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| Style number: (i)Portion of the pistil connecting the stigma to the ovary. | 1
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| Stigma number per style: (i)Number of stigmas per style. | > 3 (i)More than three stigmas, resulting from more than three fused carpels with or without develped style
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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
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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. | 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
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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
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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. | fleshy (i)Usually non dehiscent; with a fleshy (swollen because of a high water content) outer shell, flesh edible at least for animals
example: Prunus, Amygdalus, Malus
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| Type of fruit: (i)Common fruit types (including pseudocarp). | Indehiscent fruits
Solitary fruits (i)   
berry (i)Fleshy fruit with several to many seeds in the flesh
example: Tomato 
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| Shoot/Stem (i)a young stem or branch | |
| Spines, thorns or prickles: (i)Shoot with conspicuous spines, thorns or prickles. | absent (i)Stem glabrous or hairy, but never with spines, thornes or prickles
example: Gentiana barbata
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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. | homorhizous (i)Many equal roots
example: Monocotyledonae inherited by order Liliales: homorhizous
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| Runners: (i)Plant must be excavated; shoots, subterranean shoots connected by runners. | long root suckers or rhizomes (i)Plants grow new shoots from roots or subterranean shoots, called rhizomes, these spacing stems apart
example: Hippophae, Artemisia sericea
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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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| Distribution (i)region where the plant is likely to be found | |
| Distribution (Veg. Zones): (i)acc. to Grubov 1952 | Khentei (i)In distribution data often named as '2' 
Khangai (i)In distribution data often named as '3' 
Mongol-Daurian (i)In distribution data often named as '4' 
Great Khingan (i)In distribution data often named as '5' 
acc. to: Gubanov 1996 |