KEY TO THE FAMILIES OF SEED PLANTS OF 

 WESTERN MIDDLE CALIFORNIA 



GYMNOSPERMS. 



Ovules and seeds borne naked on the surface of a scale; stamen and ovules 

 in catkin-like clusters; cotyledons 2 to 17; cone-bearing trees or shrubs, 

 all of ours evergreen; leaves needle-like, narrowly linear, awl-like or scale- 

 like. 

 Fruit a woody cone, containing several to many seeds. 

 Cone-scales imbricated, with a conspicuous or minute bract at base on lower 

 side; leaves needle-like or narrowly linear; seeds 2 to each scale, bearing 



a thin wing Pinaceae, p. 17. 



Cone-scales without bracts. 



Leaves narrowly linear and 2-ranked in flat sprays, or lanceolate or awl- 

 like and disposed all around the branchlet; cone-scales not imbricated, 

 ending in broad flattish summits; seeds 2 to 9 to each scale, not 



winged Taxodiaceae, p. 22. 



Leaves minute and scale-like, thickly clothing the ultimate branchlets; 

 cone-scales imbricated, or with broad flattish summits and not im- 

 bricated ; seeds 1 to several to each scale, winged or wingless 



CUPRESSACEAE, p. 23. 



Fruit berry-like or drupe-like, one-seeded; leaves narrowly linear, in flat sprays. 



Taxaceae, p. 25. 



ANGIOSPERMS. 



Ovules borne in a closed sac or ovary, which becomes the fruit and encloses the 

 seed ; cotyledons 1 or 2 ; plants with true flowers, typically with an abbre- 

 viated stem (receptacle) bearing regular whorls of floral envelopes, stamens 

 and pistils. 



CLASS 1 .— MONOCOTS. 



Leaves with parallel veins (except Trillium) ; parts of the flowers usually in 3s, 

 never in 4s or 5s; vascular bundles scattered irregularly through the pithy 

 tissue, not in rings or annual layers; embryo with 1 cotyledon; all ours 

 herbs, when perennial commonly with rootstocks or bulbs. 



A. Perianth none or calyx-like with scale-like divisions; parts of the 



flower mostly unequal in number; carpels 1 or more, distinct (in 



Triglochin united but separating at maturity). 



1. Flowers not in the axils of dry chaffy bracts. 



Leafless minute aquatics, the stems represented by leaf-like floating fronds 



Lemnaceae, p. 87. 

 Leafy plants. 



Immersed aquatics; 1<;i\<-s filiform or linear, or some floating ones with 

 broad blades; flowers naked or with a very small calyx; stamens 1 to 4. 



Naiadaceae, |). -1 . 

 Plants of marshes or rising out of water. 

 Flowers monoecious; reed-like plants. 



Inflorescence a dense cylindrical spike TTPHACEAE, j>. 26. 



Inflorescence a dense globose head Spargaxiackak, p. 27. 



