The Plants of Michigan Simple Keys for the Identification of the Native Seed Plants of the State
Part 15
36a. Leaves sessile or with very short petiole =Spearmint, Mentha spicata.=
36b. Leaves with manifest petioles --37.
37a. Principal leaves less than half as broad as long =Peppermint, Mentha piperita.=
37b. Principal leaves more than half as broad as long =Bergamot Mint, Mentha citrata.=
38a. Stem glabrous; leaves ovate to obovate (4-8 dm. high) =Downy Mint, Mentha gentilis.=
38b. Stem pubescent, at least on the angles (1-6 dm. high) --39.
39a. Principal leaves distinctly petioled and somewhat rounded at base =Wild Mint, Mentha arvensis.=
39b. Leaves tapering to the base --40.
40a. Leaves and stem pubescent =Wild Mint, Mentha arvensis var. canadensis.=
40b. Leaves glabrous; stem pubescent on the angles only =Wild Mint, Mentha arvensis var. glabrata.=
41a. Leaves linear; calyx-teeth awl-shape =Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum flexuosum.=
41b. Leaves narrowly lanceolate; calyx-teeth triangular-ovate =Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum.=
42a. Stems decumbent to diffuse; leaves cordate to nearly circular (stems 2-5 dm. long or high; flowers in spring and summer) (Dead Nettle) --43.
42b. Stem erect; leaves palmately cleft; calyx-teeth spiny (6-15 dm. tall; flowers pink, in summer) =Motherwort, Leonurus cardiaca.=
42c. Stems erect or ascending; leaves ovate-lanceolate to linear (summer) --45.
43a. Upper leaves closely sessile (flowers red-purple) =Dead Nettle, Lamium amplexicaule.=
43b. Leaves all petioled --44.
44a. Flowers red or purple =Dead Nettle, Lamium maculatum.=
44b. Flowers white =Dead Nettle, Lamium album.=
45a. Flowers 2-2.5 cm. long, in loose terminal spikes (5-10 dm. tall; flowers rose-color) =False Dragon Head, Physostegia virginiana.=
45b. Flowers 1-2 cm. long, in axillary and terminal spiked whorls --46.
46a. Calyx-teeth spiny pointed (flowers pink or pale-purple) (Hemp Nettle) --47.
46b. Calyx-teeth acute to awl-shape, but not spiny (3-10 dm. high; flowers pale-purple) (Hedge Nettle) --48.
47a. Leaves ovate (3-8 dm. high) =Hemp Nettle, Galeopsis tetrahit.=
47b. Leaves linear to lanceolate (1-4 dm. high) =Hemp Nettle, Galeopsis ladanum.=
48a. Leaves glabrous --49.
48b. Leaves distinctly pubescent --50.
49a. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, serrate =Hedge Nettle, Stachys tenuifolia.=
49b. Leaves linear-oblong, entire or nearly so =Hedge Nettle, Stachys hyssopifolia.=
50a. Stem pubescent on the angles alone; leaves petioled =Hedge Nettle, Stachys tenuifolia var. aspera.=
50b. Stem pubescent on both sides and angles; leaves nearly sessile --51.
51a. Leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate, more than 1 cm. wide =Hedge Nettle, Stachys palustris.=
51b. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 1 cm. wide or less =Hedge Nettle, Stachys arenicola.=
VERBENACEAE, the Verbena Family
Herbs, with simple opposite leaves and slightly irregular flowers in spikes or heads; petals 5, united and bearing the 4 stamens in the corolla-tube; ovary 1, 2-celled or 4-celled, with 1 style.
1a. Plants prostrate or spreading --2.
1b. Plants erect (flowers in summer) (Vervain) --3.
2a. Leaves serrate; flowers in short dense spikes (flowers pale-blue, summer) =Fog Fruit, Lippia lanceolata.=
2b. Leaves pinnatifid; flowers in loose bracted spikes (flowers light-purple, summer) =Vervain, Verbena bracteosa.=
3a. Spikes dense, continuous (flowers purple or blue, varying to white) --4.
3b. Spikes slender, interrupted, the flowers scattered (corolla white or pale-blue) --6.
4a. Leaves lanceolate, manifestly petioled (1-2 m. high) =Vervain, Verbena hastata.=
4b. Leaves sessile, not lanceolate (5-8 dm. high) --5.
5a. Leaves narrowly oblanceolate, tapering at the entire base =Vervain, Verbena angustifolia.=
5b. Leaves oblong to obovate, not tapering at the base =Vervain, Verbena stricta.=
6a. Leaves incised, tapering to a sessile base (5-10 dm. high) =Vervain, Verbena, officinalis.=
6b. Leaves serrate, petioled (1-2 m. high) =Vervain, Verbena urticaefolia.=
SOLANACEAE, the Nightshade Family
Herbs or shrubs, with alternate leaves and regular or slightly irregular flowers; sepals 5, united; corolla of 5 united petals, bearing the 5 stamens attached; ovary 1, 2-5 (usually 2)-celled, with a slender style.
1a. Corolla rotate; anthers close together (flowers in summer) --2.
1b. Corolla not rotate; anthers separate --5.
2a. Stem and leaves prickly (3-8 dm. high) --3.
2b. Stem and leaves not prickly --4.
3a. Flowers white or bluish =Horse Nettle, Solanum carolinense.=
3b. Flowers yellow =Buffalo Bur, Solanum rostratum.=
4a. Climbing vine; leaves frequently lobed (flowers blue) =Bittersweet, Solanum dulcamara.=
4b. Not climbing; leaves toothed (flowers white) =Nightshade, Solanum nigrum.=
5a. Climbing or trailing shrub, with purplish, white, or greenish flowers about 1 cm. wide (frequently thorny; flowers in summer) =Matrimony Vine, Lycium halimifolium.=
5b. Herbaceous plants, not climbing --6.
6a. Flowers white, red, or blue, 2.5 cm. or more wide (summer) --7.
6b. Flowers yellow, yellowish-white, or greenish-yellow (summer) --12.
7a. Corolla-tube 10 cm. long or more (5-12 dm. high) --8.
7b. Corolla-tube 5 cm. long or less --10.
8a. Stem finely pubescent; leaves entire or nearly so =Thorn-apple, Datura metel.=
8b. Stem glabrous; leaves coarsely toothed (Jimson Weed) --9.
9a. Stem green; corolla white =Jimson Weed, Datura stramonium.=
9b. Stem purple; corolla light-blue or purple =Jimson Weed, Datura tatula.=
10a. Corolla pale-blue (5-10 dm. high) =Apple of Peru, Nicandra physalodes.=
10b. Corolla, red or violet (2-4 dm. high) =Petunia, Petunia violacea.=
10c. Corolla white --11.
11a. Corolla all white (2-4 dm. high) =Petunia, Petunia axillaris.=
11b. Corolla with yellow center =White Ground Cherry, Physalis grandiflora.=
12a. Corolla 30 mm. wide or more, somewhat irregular; stamens declined to one side (3-6 dm. high) =Henbane, Hyoscyamus niger.=
12b. Corolla smaller, strictly regular --13.
13a. Flowers in terminal panicles; corolla tubular, with slightly spreading lobes (5-10 dm. high) =Wild Tobacco, Nicotiana rustica.=
13b. Flowers solitary in the axils; corolla short, widely spreading (3-8 dm. high) (Ground Cherry) --14.
14a. Annuals with branching slender roots --15.
14b. Perennials with thickened roots and rootstocks --16.
15a. Plants pubescent =Ground Cherry, Physalis pubescens.=
15b. Plants smooth, or with a few scattered hairs =Ground Cherry, Physalis ixocarpa.=
16a. Stem viscid-pubescent =Ground Cherry, Physalis heterophylla.=
16b. Stem glabrous or slightly pubescent, not viscid --17.
17a. Leaves and stem distinctly pubescent =Ground Cherry, Physalis virginiana.=
17b. Leaves and stem almost glabrous =Ground Cherry, Physalis subglabrata.=
SCROPHULARIACEAE, the Figwort Family
Herbs with opposite or alternate leaves and usually irregular flowers; corolla of united petals, bearing the 2 or 4 (or rarely 5) stamens attached; petals actually 5, but sometimes apparently only 2 or 4; a sterile fifth stamen sometimes present; ovary superior, 2-celled.
1a. Anther-bearing stamens 5 (6-15 dm. high; flowers in summer) (Mullein) --2.
1b. Anther-bearing stamens 4; a sterile fifth stamen may or may not be present --3.
1c. Anther-bearing stamens 2 --37.
2a. Leaves densely white-woolly; flowers yellow, in dense spikes =Mullein, Verbascum thapsus.=
2b. Leaves smooth or nearly so; flowers yellow or white, in loose racemes =Moth Mullein, Verbascum blattaria.=
3a. Flowers (not the bracts) greenish-yellow, yellow, or orange --4.
3b. Flowers blue, purple, brown, red, pink, or white, never yellow --16.
4a. Flowers in dense terminal leafy-bracted spikes --5.
4b. Flowers in loose racemes or axillary --9.
5a. Corolla 7 mm. long or less, or none --6.
5b. Corolla 12 mm. long or more --7.
6a. Leaves alternate (3-6 dm. high; early summer) =Synthyris, Synthyris bullii.=
6b. Leaves opposite (1-2 dm. high; summer) =Eyebright, Euphrasia arctica.=
7a. Stem-leaves entire (2-6 dm. high; summer) =Painted Cup, Castilleja pallida var. septentrionalis.=
7b. Stem-leaves palmately lobed, bracteal leaves scarlet (3-6 dm. high; early summer) =Painted Cup, Castilleja coccinea.=
7c. Stem-leaves pinnately lobed or incised (Lousewort) --8.
8a. Flowers in spring (2-4 dm. high) =Lousewort, Pedicularis canadensis.=
8b. Flowers in late summer (3-8 dm. high) =Lousewort, Pedicularis lanceolata.=
9a. Upper lip of the corolla very different in size and shape from the lower lip --10.
9b. Upper lip of the corolla resembling the lower lip in shape, and not very different in size (5-12 dm. high; summer) (False Foxglove) --13.
10a. Leaves alternate (2-5 dm. high; summer) =Butter-and-eggs, Linaria vulgaris.=
10b. Leaves opposite --11.
11a. Stem erect; leaves narrowed at the base --30b.
11b. Stem creeping or spreading (summer) --12.
12a. Leaves pinnately veined, ovate =Musk Flower, Mimulus moschatus.=
12b. Leaves palmately veined, circular or nearly so =Yellow Monkey Flower, Mimulus glabratus var. jamesii.=
13a. Stem glabrous --14.
13b. Stem pubescent --15.
14a. Principal stem-leaves pinnatifid =False Foxglove, Gerardia virginica.=
14b. Principal stem-leaves entire =False Foxglove, Gerardia laevigata.=
15a. Corolla hairy on the outside =False Foxglove, Gerardia pedicularia.=
15b. Corolla smooth on the outside =False Foxglove, Gerardia flava.=
16a. Leaves all basal; flowers on leafless stalks (1 dm. high or less; flowers pink or white, summer) =Mudwort, Limosella aquatica var. tenuifolia.=
16b. Leaves opposite (those subtending the flowers may be alternate) --20.
16c. Leaves alternate or irregularly scattered --17.
17a. Leaves entire --18.
17b. Leaves pinnately lobed or incised --8a.
17c. Leaves palmately veined and lobed; stem trailing (flowers blue, summer) =Kenilworth Ivy, Linaria cymbalaria.=
18a. Corolla-tube less than 1 cm. long, spurred --19.
18b. Corolla more than 2 cm. long, not spurred (3-8 dm. high; flowers red-purple, summer) =Snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus.=
19a. Stem and foliage pubescent (1-3 dm. high; flowers blue, summer) =Small Snapdragon, Linaria minor.=
19b. Stem and foliage glabrous (2-6 dm. high; flowers blue, summer) =Toad-flax, Linaria canadensis.=
20a. Leaves with 1 or 2 lobes near the base (3-5 dm. high; flowers purple, summer) =Gerardia, Gerardia auriculata.=
20b. Leaves linear (2-6 dm. high; flowers rose-purple, summer and autumn) (Gerardia) --21.
20c. Leaves lanceolate or broader, not lobed --26.
21a. Pedicels equaling or but little longer than the calyx, and conspicuously shorter than the subtending leaf --22.
21b. Pedicels much longer than the calyx, and generally equaling or exceeding the subtending leaf --24.
22a. Plants of moist ground, bogs, and shores --23.
22b. Plants of dry uplands =Gerardia, Gerardia aspera.=
23a. Corolla about 25 mm. long =Gerardia, Gerardia purpurea.=
23b. Corolla less than 20 mm. long =Gerardia, Gerardia paupercula.=
24a. Stem rough on the angles --25.
24b. Stem glabrous =Gerardia, Gerardia tenuifolia.=
25a. Leaves 2-5 mm. wide =Gerardia, Gerardia tenuifolia var. macrophylla.=
25b. Leaves thread-like, 1 mm. wide or less =Gerardia, Gerardia skinneriana.=
26a. Corolla 16 mm. long, or shorter --27.
26b. Corolla 20 mm. long, or longer --32.
27a. Corolla dull-purple, brown, or greenish; one sterile stamen present (1-2.5 m. high; flowers in summer) (Figwort) --28.
27b. Corolla blue or white (1-4 dm. high) --29.
28a. Sterile stamen purple =Figwort, Scrophularia marilandica.=
28b. Sterile stamen yellow =Figwort, Scrophularia leporella.=
29a. Flowers nearly or quite sessile (summer) --30.
29b. Flowers on pedicels 10 mm. long or more (spring) --31.
30a. Foliage-leaves prominently toothed --6b.
30b. Foliage-leaves entire, or with 1 or 2 small teeth at the base =Cow Wheat, Melampyrum lineare.=
31a. Corolla more than 10 mm. long, blue and white =Blue-eyed Mary, Collinsia verna.=
31b. Corolla 5-8 mm. long, blue and white =Collinsia, Collinsia parviflora.=
32a. Flowers solitary in the axils of the upper foliage-leaves (4-8 dm. high; flowers blue, in summer) (Monkey Flower) --33.
32b. Flowers in dense terminal or subterminal spikes (3-9 dm. high; summer) --34.
32c. Flowers in loose terminal panicles (flowers white or pale-violet) (Beard-tongue) --35.
33a. Leaves clasping at the base =Monkey Flower, Mimulus ringens.=
33b. Leaves petioled, not clasping =Monkey Flower, Mimulus alatus.=
34a. Stem and foliage glabrous (flowers white) =Turtlehead, Chelone glabra.=
34b. Stem and foliage pubescent (flowers purple) =Blue Hearts, Buchnera americana.=
35a. Stem finely pubescent (3-6 dm. high; flowers pale-violet, late spring) =Beard-tongue, Pentstemon hirsutus.=
35b. Stem glabrous below the inflorescence (6-12 dm. high) --36.
36a. Corolla-tube gradually enlarged from base to tip (flowers pale-violet, in early summer) =Beard-tongue, Pentstemon laevigatus.=
36b. Corolla-tube abruptly enlarged just beyond the calyx (flowers white, early summer) =Beard-tongue, Pentstemon laevigatus var. digitalis.=
37a. Corolla distinctly irregular, 2-lipped (1-4 dm. high; flowers yellowish or white, summer) --38.
37b. Corolla regular or nearly so and 2-lobed, or none --6a.
37c. Corolla regular or nearly so, 4-lobed --40.
38a. Leaves narrowed at the base, with mid-vein =Hedge Hyssop, Gratiola virginiana.=
38b. Leaves rounded or somewhat clasping at the base, with 3-5 principal veins (False Pimpernel) --39.
39a. Peduncles longer than the subtending leaves =False Pimpernel, Ilysanthes anagallidea.=
39b. Peduncles shorter than the subtending leaves =False Pimpernel, Ilysanthes dubia.=
40a. Leaves whorled (8-20 dm. high; flowers white or pale-blue, in spikes, summer) =Culver's Root, Veronica virginica.=
40b. Leaves alternate or opposite (Speedwell) --41.
41a. Flowers in racemes, which arise from the axils of the opposite leaves (flowers pale-blue to nearly white, late spring and summer) --42.
41b. Flowers solitary in the axils of leaf-like bracts, or in terminal bracted racemes (1-4 dm. high; spring and summer) --46.
42a. Stem and foliage glabrous; swamp plants 2-7 dm. high --43.
42b. Stem and foliage pubescent; plants of dry ground, 1-3 dm. high --45.
43a. Leaves linear or narrowly lanceolate =Marsh Speedwell, Veronica scutellata.=
43b. Leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate --44.
44a. Stem-leaves sessile and somewhat clasping =Water Speedwell, Veronica anagallis-aquatica.=
44b. Stem-leaves on short petioles =Brooklime, Veronica americana.=
45a. Leaves narrowed at base into a petiole =Speedwell, Veronica officinalis.=
45b. Leaves rounded or heart-shape at the base =Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys.=
46a. Bracteal leaves entire; stem glabrous or minutely pubescent --47.
46b. All leaves serrate; foliage pubescent (flowers blue) --48.
47a. Flowers white, about 2 mm. wide =Speedwell, Veronica peregrina.=
47b. Flowers pale-blue with darker stripes, 3-4 mm. wide =Speedwell, Veronica serpyllifolia.=
48a. Flowers nearly sessile, about 2 mm. wide =Speedwell, Veronica arvensis.=
48b. Flowers on slender pedicels, 5-8 mm. wide =Speedwell, Veronica tournefortii.=
LENTIBULARIACEAE, the Bladderwort Family
Small herbs, growing on rocks, in mud, or in water; calyx and corolla both 2-lipped; stamens 2, attached to the corolla; ovary 1-celled.
1a. Corolla purple --2.
1b. Corolla yellow (flowers in summer) (Bladderwort) --4.
2a. Leaves oval to elliptical, entire (about 1 dm. high, on rocks; flowers in summer) =Butterwort, Pinguicula vulgaris.=
2b. Leaves dissected or none, submerged (flowers in summer) (Bladderwort) --3.
3a. Flower-stalk with a single bract near the middle =Bladderwort, Utricularia resupinata.=
3b. Flower-stalk without bracts, except at the base of the pedicels =Bladderwort, Utricularia purpurea.=
4a. Stem and numerous dissected leaves floating in water =Bladderwort, Utricularia vulgaris var. americana.=
4b. Stem and minute leaves creeping on the bottom of ponds or in mud, while the flowers are borne on erect stalks, easily detached from the delicate stems --5.
5a. Upper lip of corolla conspicuous, as long or nearly as long as the lower lip; lower lip with a prominent raised palate --6.
5b. Upper lip of corolla half as long as the lower lip, or less --7.
6a. Spur of corolla very short and blunt =Bladderwort, Utricularia gibba.=
6b. Spur of corolla very long and slender =Bladderwort, Utricularia cornuta.=
7a. Spur of corolla very short and blunt, or almost none =Bladderwort, Utricularia minor.=
7b. Spur of corolla long and slender =Bladderwort, Utricularia intermedia.=
OROBANCHACEAE, the Broom-rape Family
Parasitic plants without green color and with scales in place of leaves; corolla 2-lipped, of united petals; stamens 4, attached to the corolla.
1a. Flowers in a widely branching panicle, numerous; growing under beech trees (1-5 dm. high; flowers white and purple, late summer) =Beech Drops, Epifagus virginiana.=
1b. Flowers sessile in a dense bracted spike (1-2 dm. high; flowers pale-yellow, early summer) =Squaw-root, Conopholis americana.=
1c. Flowers 1-15, each on a long erect naked peduncle (1-2 dm. high; flowers yellowish or pale-violet, spring and summer) (Cancer-root) --2.
2a. Stem erect and scaly, 5-10 cm. high =Cancer-root, Orobanche fasciculata.=
2b. Stem very short, almost below the surface of the ground, with long erect peduncles =Cancer-root, Orobanche uniflora.=
ACANTHACEAE, the Acanthus Family
Herbs with opposite simple leaves; corolla of united petals, 2-lipped or almost regular; stamens 2 or 4, attached to the corolla; ovary 2-celled.
1a. Corolla about 10 mm. long; flowers in dense heads (4-10 dm. high; flowers blue or white, summer) =Water Willow, Dianthera americana.=
1b. Corolla about 30 mm. long; flowers axillary (3-8 dm. high; flowers blue, in summer) (Ruellia) --2.
2a. Foliage glabrous or slightly pubescent =Ruellia, Ruellia strepens.=
2b. Foliage densely hirsute =Ruellia, Ruellia ciliosa.=
PHRYMACEAE, the Lopseed Family
Herb with opposite leaves and irregular flowers in long slender spikes; petals united, corolla 2-lipped; stamens 4, attached to the corolla; ovary 1-celled.
One species only, 5-10 dm. high; flowers purple, in summer =Lopseed, Phryma leptostachya.=
PLANTAGINACEAE, the Plantain Family
Herbs with basal leaves and small white flowers in spikes; sepals 4; petals 4, united; stamens 4; ovary 2-celled.
1a. Leaves linear (1-4 dm. high; summer) --2.
1b. Leaves broader, lanceolate to broadly ovate or cordate (summer) --3.
2a. Spikes mixed with bracts several times longer than the flowers =Buckhorn, Plantago aristata.=
2b. Bracts about as long as the flowers =Plantain, Plantago purshii.=
3a. Leaves cordate, pinnately veined; plant of wet ground and marshes (4-8 dm. tall) =Plantain, Plantago cordata.=
3b. Leaves with 3 to many longitudinal ribs or veins --4.
4a. Leaves densely pubescent with grayish hairs --5.
4b. Leaves smooth or slightly pubescent --6.
5a. Flower-stalks 3-6 dm. high =Plantain, Plantago media.=
5b. Flower-stalks less than 3 dm. high =Plantain, Plantago virginica.=
6a. Flower-stalks 3-6 dm. high; spikes not over 10 cm. long =English Plantain, Plantago lanceolata.=
6b. Scapes 1-4 dm. high; spikes long and slender, usually equaling or longer than the peduncle; dooryard plantains --7.
7a. Leaves green at the base =Plantain, Plantago major.=
7b. Leaves reddish at the base =Plantain, Plantago rugelii.=
RUBIACEAE, the Madder family
Herbs or shrubs, with opposite or whorled leaves and regular flowers; sepals 4, or minute or almost wanting; petals 4, united; stamens 4; ovary inferior.
1a. Shrub (1-3 m. tall; flowers white, in spherical heads, summer) =Button Bush, Cephalanthus occidentalis.=
1b. Herbaceous --2.
2a. Leaves opposite --3.
2b. Leaves whorled; flowers white, green, or purple (Bedstraw) --6.
2c. Leaves whorled; flowers yellow =Bedstraw, Galium verum.=
3a. Leaves about as long as wide (trailing; flowers paired, white, in spring) =Partridge Berry, Mitchella repens.=
3b. Leaves at least twice as long as wide --4.