Key to Melanthiaceae

View taxon page for Melanthiaceae

Jepson Manual glossary definitions can be seen by moving your cursor over words underlined with dots.

1. Leaves 

linear 

Elongate, with nearly parallel sides; narrower than elliptic or oblong.

2. Leaves persistent after 1 year, wiry, tough; cauline leaves many, reduced upward ..... XEROPHYLLUM

2' Leaves deciduous after 1 year, not wiry, not tough; cauline leaves 0 or 1–2, much reduced

3. Perianth parts pale green-yellow to ± purple, without glands; ovary partly inferior (at base) ..... STENANTHIUM

3' Perianth parts white to ± yellow, with 1–2 distinct glands near base; ovary superior ..... TOXICOSCORDION

1' Leaves 

lanceolate 

Narrowly elongate, widest in the basal half, often tapered to an acute tip.

to widely 

ovate 

Egg-shaped (i.e., widest below the middle) in two dimensions (i.e., in one plane), as a leaf.

4. Leaves > 3, 

alternate 

1. Arranged singly, often spirally, along an axis - e.g., one leaf per node. 2. Occurring in different ranks, appearing to be between, not directly above or below, as 'stamens alternate petals'.

; plant 1–2 m ..... VERATRUM

4' Leaves 3, in 1 whorl subtending flower; plant < 0.7 m

5. Leaves petioled (subsessile), leathery; petals white (pink), generally purple-spotted ..... PSEUDOTRILLIUM

5' Leaves 

sessile 

Without a petiole, peduncle, pedicel, or other kind of stalk.

or subsessile, not leathery; petals white, ± pink, ± yellow, or purple, not spotted ..... TRILLIUM

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