Introduction 



HOW TO USE THE KEY 



[Tie name of a plant consists as a rule of two parts or words, for example, Viola blanda, 

 Oralis stricla, etc. I'lu- tir-t word indicates the genus, and is always capitalized. I he second 

 word indicates the species, or kind, and is rarely capitalized. The meaning of the terms genus 

 (plural, genera) and species (plural, species) may be clearly illustrated by the violets and 

 The pansy, the prairie violet, the blue woodland violet, the yellow violet, etc., are 

 different kinds, or species, of the genus of violets, Viola, each one designated by it! 



I. Leaf outlines 



1. Rounded. 2. Cordate (heart-shaped). 3,4. Reniform (kidney-shaped I. i. Peltate (shield-shaped). 



6. Sagittate (arrow-shaped). 7. Auriculate (eared). 8. Hastate (halberd-shaped). 



name, tricolor, pedatifida, etc. Genera which are related to each other are grouped into fam- 

 ilies, e. g.. Violaceae, the violet family. Liliaceae, the lily family, etc. The ending, -aceae, 

 which is always u*,v-i\ to denote a family, is the feminine plural of the Latin suffix, -aceus, 

 meaning like or related to. The family name, Liliaceae, is really an adjective agreeing with 

 plantae, plants, and meaning "plants related to the lily." Families are themselves grouped 

 into orders, winch also hear a distinctive ending, e. g., Liliales, Poales, etc. This ending is 

 likewise in the feminine plural, and the meaning of the name is "plant families related to the 



II. Leaf Outlines and Bases 



3 4 5 6 7 8' 10 



1. Linear. 2. Lanceolate (lance-shaped). 3. Oblong- 4. Elliptic. 5. Oval. 6. Ovate i egg-shaped). 

 7. Oblanceolate. 8. Spatulate (spatula-like). 9. Obovate (reversed ovate) . 

 10. Cuneate (wedge-shaped). 



lily family," etc. Orders are further arranged into larger groups, such as Monocotyledons, 

 dowering plants with a single seed-leaf, and Dicotyledons, those with two seed-leaves, 

 Angiosperms, flowering plants with closed pistils, and usually with sepals and petals, and 

 Gymnosperms, with open pistils, and no sepals or petals. 



