HOW TO USE THE KEY AND FLORA 
The purpose of this Key and Flora is to find the names 
of the spring flowering plants that grow in Oklahoma. 
In determining an unknown species, the student should 
make a careful examination of the plant as a whole, e.g., 
roots, stem, leaves, and flower, also the fruit and seed if 
available. 
The manner of using the Key and Flora in finding the 
names of plants will best be learned by following a few 
examples. Since the Yellow False Garlic (commonly mis¬ 
taken for Wild Onion) is one of the first to bloom in the 
spring and one of the most common, we will use this as 
the first. 
Turn to the Key on page v and begin with Class I. 
Read the paragraph describing it, and, as our plant has its 
flower parts in sixes and leaves are parallel-veined, we 
conclude that it belongs under Class I. Read after I; we 
find that the perianth is free from the ovary; hence, it 
belongs here. Next read after A, and since it has a 
perianth, it does not belong here but belongs under B. 
Read after la. We find the stamens are all alike and 
fertile, so it belongs here. Under la there are 2a, 2b; 
3a, 3b; 4a, 4b; 5a, 5b. It is evident that our plant be¬ 
longs to the first of each of these, and thus it is traced 
to the Liliacese Family, page 5. We turn directly to that 
page and read the description of the family. Finding 
that our plant conforms to it, we follow the key to the 
genera in order to find the genus to which it belongs. Here 
we find two main divisions, “Stem a woody caudex, etc.” 
and “Plants with bulbs and corms.” Since the Yellow 
False Garlic has a bulb it falls under the second division. 
The flowers of our plant are umbeled, “perianth 6-parted,” 
and “odor not onion-like,” therefore it is evidently to be 
looked for under Genus III. Nothoscordum. Turn to page 
7, and read the description of this genus. Our plant 
agrees with this description. We read the description of 
the species and find that the plant belongs here. Thus, the 
scientific name is Nothoscordum bivalve (LO Britton, and 
the common , name is Yellow False Garlic. L. is the 
abbreviation for Linnseous (botanist). Linnseous and Brit¬ 
ton are the authorities for the scientific name of this plant. 
