Plants normal, autotrophic
Plants with stilt roots, knee roots, pneumatophores
and viviparous
Leaves coriaceous
Ovary inferior
Stamens and anther sacs more than 6
Ovules typically 2 in each placenta
Shrub or small tree
Stamens and anther sacs less than 6
Ovary superior
Ovules many, generally burried in the
proliferation placentae
Stamens usually in 1 whorl
Style one, anther with transverse septs
Fruit a berry or a drupe
Styles five
Anthers without transverse septa
Ovule typically one
Plants with large buttresses or
pneumatophores
Stilt roots, knee roots and vivipary
absent
Flowers regular or zygomorphic
Calyx persistent gamosepalous
Stamens monadelphous
Lower surface of leaf covered with golden
fimbriate scales
Filaments united in a column
Androecium with 5 fertile stamens alternating
with many staminodes
Stigma simple
Leaves pinnate, exstipulate, oblique at
the base
Lower surface of leaf glabrous without
scales
Flowers bisexual, hypogynous with annular
or tubulardisc
Flowers with secretary cells
Filaments united in a tube
Stigma capitate or discoid
Plants with pneumatophores and halophytic
Pneumatophores corky
Lower surface of the leaf glabrous
Flowers large, solitary, axillary
Sepals 4 - 8 thickly leathery, connate
below in a widely companulate calyx
Stamens many, inserted on a hypanthium
Ovary more than 6 celled
Fruit a many seeded berry
Buttresses absent
Pneumatophores spongy
Inflorescence capitate cymes
Stamens 4-5 at corolla throat
Fruit a one seeded compressed capsule
Plants without stilt roots, knee roots
and vivipary
Leaves simple
Plants with acrid milky juice
Flowers bisexual
Perianth uniseriate,
not differentiated into calyx and corolla
Ovary superior 3 locular, ovules collateral,
pendulous with ventral raphae
Plants without milky sap
Leaves either fleshy or thread like
Stamens 3-5 or many, united basally
Fruit loculicidal capsule dehiscing septicidally
Placentation free-central or basal
Perianth bract like
Stamens 5, not united basally
Staminodes absent
Fruit indehiscent nutlet
Leaves simple with palmately veined, alternate,
stipulate
Flowers regular, subtended by a whorl
of bracts and bracteoles
Sepals free
Petals free
Corolla regular
Carpels 5 to many, united
Axile placentation
Fruit a capsule or drupe or otherwise
but never a legume or lomentum
Stamens indefinite, monadelphous
Flowers without prominent bracts and bracteoles
Petals free
Fruit winged, usually indehiscent
Plants without milky sap
Flowers regular, without epicalyx
Calyx with free sepals, deciduous
Petals and stamens free
Stamens free in separate bundles
Anthers globose or oblong
Disc absent
Ovary superior
Leaves almost compound, stipulate
Inflorescence a raceme
Flowers papilionaceous
Corolla with standard wings and keel
Petals imbricate or vaxillary
Stamens usually 10 monadelphous or diadelphous
(9 + 1)
Calyx distinctly united below beyond the
top of the disc
Ovary superior
Fruit always a legume or lomentum
Climbing herb or shrub
Plants autotrophic with green leaves,
Plants with milky sap or latex or milky
juice
Leaves alternate, rarely leafless parasites,
exstipulate
Interstaminal scale lacking
Petals united
Corolla twisted
Stamens adnate to the corolla tube
Ovary bilocular with 2 ovules
Plants with milky sap
Petals united atleast at base
Stamens inserted on the petals
Filament united follicles lanceolate
Pollen aggregated into pollinia
Carpels united at stigmatic disc
Fruit usually of 2 follicles
Plants with milky sap or latex
Corolla herbaceous
Calyx imbricate, stamens 5, epipetalous
Stamens alternate with corolla lobes
Stamens inserted near the corolla base
Ovary 2 celled
Pollen not aggregated into pollinia
Carpels entirely united by styles
Fruit usually drupaceous
Plants without milky sap or latex or milky
juice
Inflorescence circinate, cymose
Style gynobasic
Fruit with 4-nutlets
Flowers bisexual
Ovary less than 3-loculed
Flowers with prominent bracts and bracteoles
Petals united
Corolla zygomorphic
Cystoliths present
Inflorescence racemose, centripetal
Cystoliths absent
Floral bracts and bracteoles absent
Stamens 2 or 3
Ovary separating into nutlets at maturity
Fruit a drupe
