Utah Flora
Gymnosperms
Cupressaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Fleshy cones
B. scale-like leaves
BOT2100
Utah Flora
Gymnosperms
Pinaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. needle-like leaves in groups of 1 to 5
B. woody cones with large bracts
BOT2100
Utah Flora
Gymnosperms
Ephedraceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. shrubs, exclusively
B. Opposite or whorled, scale-like leaves
C. Leaves are deciduous
D. Scale-like cone bracts, not woody
BOT2100
Utah Flora
Monocots
BOT2100
Liliaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. carpels, petals, sepals in 3’s, fruit a capsule
B. Tepals not petals or sepals
C. Often the tepals are petaloid (colored)
D. Leaves basal, alternate (sometimes whorled)
E. Parallel leaf veins
F. One seed leaf (cotyledon)
Utah Flora
Monocots
Poaceae
BOT2100
Graminae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Parallel leaf veins
B. One seed leaf (cotyledon)
C. Flowers in spikelets, arranged in spikes or panicles
D. Sepaloid bracts called glumes (2) in a floret
E. Ovary enclosed by bracts called lemma & palea
F. Caryopsis – dry fruit of 2 locules that is fused entirely
to the embryo
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Ranunculaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Irregular and regular flowers; petals free, sometimes
absent (sometimes spurred)
B. When absent, sepals petaloid (often spurred)
C. petals 5, sepals 5, many stamens
D. fruit achenes or follicles (a fruit made from 1 carpel
and dehiscent along 1 line)
E. Leaves alternate (rarely opposite); simple to pinnately
or palmately compound; margins entire to lobed
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Boraginaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Regular flowers, petals fused
B. Petals, 5 lobed, sepals 5, stamens 5
C. fruit of 4, 1 seeded nutlets (dry, hard, indehiscent)
D. Leaves alternate, often basal, simple,
margins entire to pinnately lobed
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Hydrophyllaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Regular flowers, petals fused
B. Petals 5 lobed, 5 sepals, 5 stamens
C. fruit a capsule
D. leaves mostly alternate, some basal, simple to
pinnately compound, margins entire to pinnately
lobed
Utah Flora
Dicots
Lamiaceae
BOT2100
Labiatae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Irregular flowers, fused petals
B. Petals 5 lobed (2-lipped or bilabiate), 5 sepals
2-4 stamens
C. fruit of 4, 1 seeded nutlets
D. Square stems (mostly);
E. leaves opposite, somtimes whorled, simple to
pinnately or palmately compound, margins entire,
lobed or toothed
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Scrophulariaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Irregular flowers, petals fused
B. Petals 5 lobed (2-lipped or bilabiate), 5 sepals
4-5 stames, when 5 stamens,
one is infertile (staminode)
C. fruit a capsule
D. Leaves alternate or opposite, simple, margins entire to
pinnately lobed
Utah Flora
BOT2100
Dicots
Brassicaceae
Cruciferae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Regular flowers, petals separate
B. 4 petals (cruciform, cross-shaped), 4 sepals
4-6 stamens
C. Silique- pod that is many times longer than wide
Silicle- pod that is nearly as long and wide (roundish)
-pod made from 2 carpels, always superior, divided
into two partitions by a replum (thin papery divider)
D. Leaves alternate or basal, simple to pinnately
compound, margins entire to lobed
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Polemoniaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Regular flowers, petals fused
B. Petals 5 lobed, 5 sepals, 5 stamens
C. Fruit a capsule
D. Leaves alternate, simple to pinnately compound,
sometimes palmately compound, margins entire to
lobed
Utah Flora
BOT2100
Dicots
Fabaceae
Leguminosae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Irregular, petals separate an fused
B. 5 petals, 3 petals are free (Banner and 2 wings)
2 petals are fused (keel), 5 sepals
5 or 10, when 10, they can have fused or separate
filaments
C. Fruit a legume
pod made of 2 carpels that dehisces along 2 lines
(no replum)
D. Leaves alternate, mostly pinnately or palmately
compound, margins often entire
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Onagraceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. regular, petals separate
B. 4 petals, 4 sepals, 4 or 8 stamens
C. fruit a capsule, ovary inferior
D. Leaves alternate, opposite, whorled and basal, simple,
margins entire to pinnately lobed
Utah Flora
BOT2100
Dicots
Apiaceae
Umbelliferae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. regular, petals free
flowers in compound umbels
B. 5 petals, 5 sepals, 5 stamens (often exserted)
C. fruit a schizocarp (dry indehiscent fruit, not hard, that
splits into 2 or many, 1 seeded segments), inferior
ovary
D. Leaves alternate, often compound, margins entire to
pinnately lobed
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Malvaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. regular, petals free
B. 5 petals, 5 sepals, many stamens, filaments fused into
a tube
C. fruit a schizocarp made from many carpels, superior
ovary
D. Leaves alternate, simple to compound, always
palmately lobed or divided
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Polygonaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. regular, tepals free or fused
flowers in umbels or racemes
B. perianth of 5 or 6 tepals, flowers are arranged in
4 or 5 lobed involucres
C. fruit an achene, superior ovary
D. leaves alternate or basal, always simple, entire
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Chenopodiaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. flowers regular, mostly imperfect, tepals free
B. perianth of 5 tepals, 5 stamens
C. fruit an achene or a utricle (dry, hard, 1 seeded fruit,
nut-like)
D. leaves alternate, simple, entire to pinnately lobed,
sometimes reduced to succulent or bract-like scales
Utah Flora
Dicots
BOT2100
Rosaceae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. regular, petals free
B. 5 petals, 5 sepals, calyx fused into a hypanthium,
stamens many, ovary mostly superior, rarely
inferior (as in Malus, apples, or Amelanchier)
C. Fruit achenes or drupes when ovary is superior;
Pomes when ovary is inferior
D. leaves alternate, simple to palmately or pinnately
compound, margins entire to lobed
Utah Flora
Dicots
Asteraceae
BOT2100
Compositae
Distinguishing Characters:
A. Ray flowers are irregular, fused
Disk flowers are regular, fused
arranged in involucres with bracts called phyllaries
B. Petals 5 lobed, calyx modified into pappus
C. Fruit an achene, ovary inferior
D. leaves alternate, opposite or basal, simple to pinnately
compound, mostly entire, sometimes lobed