A N F Keys
CARYOPHYLLACEAE
CARNATION
FAMILY
1 Leaves predominantly alternate, densely short-hirsute with a mixture of stiff hairs and shorter soft hairs, appearing gray-green .. Herniaria hirsuta var. cinerea [pics]
1' Leaves opposite
2 Blades slender, needlelike, or linear, fleshy or nonfleshy
3 Mat-forming with dense branching; flowers inconspicuous with 5 helically arranged sepals
4 Perennials on seacoast; shoots woolly-tomentose with reflective stipules; sepals awn-tipped; fruit a utricle .. Cardionema ramosissimum [pics]
4' Annuals on bare ground; shoots glandular-hairy; stipules hairlike (setae) 0.4−0.6 mm long; fruit a capsule with several−12 seeds .. Loeflingia squarrosa [pics]
3' Plants not mat-forming, having spreading to ascending shoots, with or without tufts of young leaves on unexpanded axillary shoots; flowers with conspicuous petals
5 Leaves somewhat fleshy, stipules scarious; stamens 2−10 .. Spergularia
5' Leaves not fleshy; stamens 10
6 Leaves appearing whorled; glandular-pubescent; stipules scarious; flowers 7−8 mm across with white petals and 5 styles .. Spergula arvensis [pics]
6' Leaves obviously opposite; glabrous; stipules absent
7 Diminutive, delicate annuals; leaves 3−11 mm long; petals ca. 1 mm long; styles 5 .. Sagina decumbens subsp. occidentalis [pics]
7' Springtime annuals; leaves 6−30(−40) mm long; petals ± 7 mm long and short-clawed; styles 3 .. Minuartia douglasii [pics]
2' Blades flattened
8 Calyx tubular with sepals united nearly to their summit .. Silene
8' Calyx not tubular (sepals free)
9 Stipules present and scarious; sepals keeled; petals not notched or lobed .. Polycarpon
9' Stipules absent; petals, if present, notched or lobed
10 Leaves conspicuously pilose; fruit a cylindric capsule dehiscent by 10 teeth .. Cerastium glomeratum [pics]
10' Leaves not pilose; fruit not as above
11 Petals small or absent; stamens 1−5(−8) with short filaments; capsule longitudinally dehiscent by valves .. Stellaria
11' Petals showy; stamens 10 in 2 whorls with filaments ca. 5 mm long; capsule dehiscent by 4 teeth .. Gypsophila elegans [pics]
Polycarpon L.
POLYCARP, MANYSEED
1 Leaves appearing to be in whorls of 4 (= a pair of cauline leaves and a pair of leaves on axillary shoot); stipules 1.8−2.8 mm long; sepals 1.5−2.5 mm long, keeled .. Polycarpon tetraphyllum subsp. tetraphyllum [pics]
1' Leaves appearing on opposite; stipules 0.4−1.2 mm long; sepals 1−1.5 mm long, flat or scarcely keeled .. Polycarpon depressum [pics]
1 Perennial herbs; filaments 14+ mm long
2 Shoots sparsely short-hairy to midplant becoming densely glandular-pubescent above and in inflorescence; flowers 23−29 mm across; petals scarlet, with 3−4 lobes .. Silene laciniata subsp. laciniata [pics]
2' Shoots and inflorescence densely glandular-pubescent and ± viscid; flowers 10−12 mm across; petals whitish to greenish or pale rose, 2-lobed .. Silene verecunda [pics]
1' Annuals; filaments 3−8.5 mm long
3 Calyx conspicuously 16−25(−40)-veined; flower at anthesis 4 mm diameter, but calyx becoming greatly inflated in fruit .. Silene coniflora [pics]
3' Calyx typically 10-veined; flower 5−8.5 mm across
4 Shoots densely puberulent at base to ± glabrous above midplant but with viscid bands of glandular hairs on upper internodes and inflorescences .. Silene antirrhina [pics]
4' Shoots firm villous and short-villous replaced in canopy by glandular hairs and viscid; calyx 8−10 mm long; filaments 6−8.5 mm long .. Silene gallica [pics]
Spergularia J. Presl & C. Presl
SAND-SPURREY
1 Perennials; stamens 7−10
2 Sepals 2.5−4 mm long increasing to 5 mm in fruit; petals white; styles 0.4−0.6 mm long .. Spergularia villosa [pics]
2' Sepals 4.5−7 mm long increasing to 8 mm in fruit; styles 0.6−3 mm long
3 Petals white .. Spergularia macrotheca var. leucantha
3' Petals deep rose to reddish purple .. Spergularia macrotheca var. macrotheca [pics]
1' Annuals
4 Foliage without glandular hairs; stamens 8−10 .. Spergularia bocconi [pics]
4' Foliage and inflorescence with glandular hairs; stamens 2−5 .. Spergularia marina [pics]
Stellaria L.
CHICKWEED, STARWORT
1 Stems weak and with a longitudinal line of hairs (also pedicels), leaves typically petiolate; blades of upper leaves ovate to broadly elliptic, 1.5−28 mm wide
2 Outer sepals typically hairy; petals 1.5−2.8 mm long (absent); stamens 3(−5 or 8); seeds ± 0.6 mm thick, reddish or purplish brown .. Stellaria media [pics]
2' Outer sepals with hairs along keel; petals generally absent; stamens (1−)2−3; seeds 0.4−0.55 mm thick, cinnamon to yellowish ochre .. Stellaria pallida [pics]
1' Stems wiry and lacking a longitudinal line of hairs, leaves typically sessile, blades of upper leaves oblanceolate to narrowly lanceolate and 0.5−3 mm wide; outer sepals typically glabrous, petals 0.5−1.3 mm long .. Stellaria nitens [pics]
The text of the above keys used with permission from
A Naturalist's Flora of the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills, California
© Copyright
Barry A. Prigge and Arthur C. Gibson
2013