Herbs with simple leaves, and regular flowers, having 5 sepals, 5 yellow or blue petals, 5 stamens, and 5 styles.
| 1a. Flowers blue (3-6 dm. high; summer) | Flax, Linum usitatissimum. |
| 1b. Flowers yellow (3-8 dm. high; summer) (Wild Flax) — 2. | |
| 2a. Middle stem-leaves below the branches opposite | Wild Flax, Linum striatum. |
| 2b. Middle stem-leaves below the branches alternate — 3. | |
| 3a. Leaves narrowly lanceolate to linear, 1-4 mm. wide — 4. | |
| 3b. Leaves oblanceolate to oblong, 4-6 mm. wide | Wild Flax, Linum virginianum. |
| 4a. Leaves entire | Wild Flax, Linum medium. |
| 4b. Upper leaves glandular-ciliate | Wild Flax, Linum sulcatum. |
Herbs, with alternate or basal compound leaves with 3 reverse heart-shaped leaflets; sepals, petals, and styles each 5; stamens 10. (Wood Sorrel)
| 1a. Leaves all basal; flowers white to pink-purple (1-2 dm. high; late spring) — 2. | |
| 1b. Stem-leaves present; flowers yellow (1-5 dm. high; spring and summer) — 3. | |
| 2a. Flower-stalks bearing a single flower | Wood Sorrel, Oxalis acetosella. |
| 2b. Flower-stalks bearing an umbel of several flowers | Wood Sorrel, Oxalis violacea. |
| 3a. Stem prostrate and creeping Wood Sorrel, Oxalis repens. | |
| 3b. Stem erect or ascending — 4. | |
| 4a. Pedicels with spreading pubescence | Wood Sorrel, Oxalis corniculata. |
| 4b. Pedicels with appressed pubescence | Wood Sorrel, Oxalis stricta. |
Herbs, with deeply lobed or divided leaves; flowers regular, with 5 sepals, 5 petals, 5 or 10 stamens, and a 5-celled ovary.
| 1a. Anthers 5 (spreading or ascending plants, 2-4 dm. high; flowers pink or purple, spring and summer) — 2. | |
| 1b. Anthers 10 — 3. | |
| 2a. Leaves pinnately dissected | Stork's-bill, Erodium cicutarium. |
| 2b. Leaves palmately divided into cuneate lobes | Crane's-bill, Geranium pusillum. |
| 3a. Leaves ternately divided, the lobes pinnatifid (2-4 dm. high; flowers purple, late spring and summer) | Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum. |
| 3b. Leaves palmately 3-11-lobed — 4. | |
| 4a. Petals 12 mm. long or more (3-6 dm. high; flowers pale purple, spring) | Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum. |
| 4b. Petals less than 10 mm. long (Crane's-bill) — 5. | |
| 5a. Seed-bearing portion of the pistil smooth, glabrous or nearly so (low spreading plant; flowers purple, late spring and summer) | Crane's-bill, Geranium columbinum. |
| 5b. Seed-bearing portion of the pistil transversely wrinkled (widely branching. 1-3 dm. tall; flowers purple, summer) | Crane's-bill, Geranium molle. |
| 5c. Seed-bearing portion of the pistil pubescent (widely branching. 1-5 dm. tall) — 6. | |
| 6a. Leaves divided almost to the base (flowers pinkish or white, spring and summer) — 7. | |
| 6b. Leaves divided one-half to two-thirds the way to the base (flowers purple, summer) | Crane's-bill, Geranium rotundifolium. |
| 7a. Petals white or pale pink; flowers in compact clusters | Crane's-bill, Geranium carolinianum. |
| 7b. Petals pink-purple; flowers in loose clusters | Crane's-bill, Geranium bicknellii. |
Shrubs or low trees, with compound leaves frequently dotted with translucent glands; flowers small, greenish-white, with 3-5 sepals, petals, and stamens.
| 1a. Leaflets 5-9; stems thorny | Prickly Ash, Zanthoxylum americanum. |
| 1b. Leaflets 3; stems not thorny | Hop Tree, Ptelea trifoliata. |
Trees, with pinnately compound leaves and small greenish-yellow flowers in large panicles in early summer, ripening into winged fruits.
| One species in Michigan, escaped from cultivation chiefly in towns | Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus glandulosa. |
Small herbs, with alternate or whorled simple leaves, and small irregular flowers; sepals 5, petals 3, stamens 6 or 8, more or less united with each other and with the petals.
| 1a. All of the leaves alternate — 2. | |
| 1b. Some or all of the leaves in whorls (1-4 dm. high; flowers greenish, purple, or white; summer) (Milkwort) — 6. | |
| 2a. Flowers few, loosely clustered, 15-20 mm. long (1-3 dm. high; flowers purple; early summer) | Flowering Wintergreen, Polygala paucifolia. |
| 2b. Flowers numerous, in a spike or raceme — 3. | |
| 3a. Stem-leaves minute, linear-subulate; stem slender, erect, 3-7 dm. high (flowers pink; summer) | Milkwort, Polygala incarnata. |
| 3b. Stem-leaves narrowly oblong or broader; stem generally 1-4 dm. high — 4. | |
| 4a. Flowers in a short thick obtuse very dense spike (flowers greenish or purple; summer) | Milkwort, Polygala sanguinea. |
| 4b. Flowers in a slender tapering spike — 5. | |
| 4c. Flowers in a raceme; plants with subterranean flowers also (flowers purple; early summer) | Milkwort, Polygala polygama. |
| 5a. Leaves linear or nearly so (flowers purple; summer) — 7b. | |
| 5b. Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 2-6 cm. long (flowers white; late spring) | Seneca Snakeroot, Polygala senega. |
| 5c. Leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate (flowers white; late spring) | Seneca Snakeroot, Polygala senega var. latifolia. |
| 6a. Spike oval, thick, obtuse | Milkwort, Polygala cruciata. |
| 6b. Spike acute — 7. | |
| 7a. Spike densely flowered, 1-2 cm. long | Milkwort, Polygala verticillata. |
| 7b. Spike loosely flowered, 2-5 cm. long | Milkwort, Polygala verticillata var. ambigua. |
Herbs, with alternate, opposite, or whorled leaves and usually milky juice. Flowers small or minute and inconspicuous, without petals and frequently without calyx. In our commoner species, several staminate flowers, each consisting of a single stamen only, and one pistillate flower, consisting of a single pedicelled 3-lobed ovary only, are included within a 4-5-lobed involucre, which is sometimes colored and resembles a calyx or corolla.
| 1a. Stem-leaves alternate; inflorescence axillary; flowers with calyx and several stamens (3-8 dm. tall; flowers greenish or purplish; summer) (Three-seeded Mercury) — 2. | |
| 1b. Stem-leaves opposite, usually inequilateral at base; flowers as described for the family; apparent flowers in axillary clusters (summer and autumn) (Spurge) — 3. | |
| 1c. Stem-leaves alternate; inflorescence a terminal umbel-like cluster, with its branches subtended by opposite or whorled leaves; flowers as described for the family (Spurge) — 9. | |
| 2a. Leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate; flower-clusters shorter than the subtending bract | Three-seeded Mercury, Acalypha virginica. |
| 2b. Leaves lanceolate to oblong; flower-clusters equaling or exceeding the subtending bract | Three-seeded Mercury, Acalypha gracilens. |
| 3a. Stem and foliage glabrous — 4. | |
| 3b. Stem and foliage more or less pubescent (stems prostrate or ascending, 1-4 dm. long) — 7. | |
| 4a. Erect or ascending, usually without basal branches (2-4 dm. tall) | Spurge, Euphorbia preslii. |
| 4b. Prostrate or spreading, branched from the base (stems 1-4 dm. long) — 5. | |
| 5a. Leaves entire; plants of the shores of the Great Lakes | Spurge, Euphorbia polygonifolia. |
| 5b. Leaves serrulate — 6. | |
| 6a. Leaves broadly oblong or obovate; seeds obscurely wrinkled | Spurge, Euphorbia serpyllifolia. |
| 6b. Leaves narrowly oblong; seeds with prominent transverse ridges | Spurge, Euphorbia glyptosperma. |
| 7a. Seeds black | Spurge, Euphorbia hirsuta. |
| 7b. Seeds red — 8. | |
| 8a. Leaves oblong | Spurge, Euphorbia maculata. |
| 8b. Leaves elliptical to obovate; involucre split down one side | Spurge, Euphorbia humistrata. |
| 9a. Flowers subtended by conspicuous petal-like white appendages (part of the involucre) (4-10 dm. tall; summer) | Spurge, Euphorbia corollata. |
| 9b. Flowers not subtended by petal-like appendages — 10. | |
| 10a. Stem-leaves below the inflorescence serrulate (2-5 dm. high; summer) — 11. | |
| 10b. Stem-leaves below the inflorescence entire — 13. | |
| 11a. Upper leaves acute | Spurge, Euphorbia platyphylla. |
| 11b. Upper leaves obtuse, rounded, or notched at the apex — 12. | |
| 12a. Leaves of the involucre broadly triangular-ovate, widest near the base | Spurge, Euphorbia obtusata. |
| 12b. Leaves of the involucre broadly obovate to nearly circular, widest near or above the middle | Spurge, Euphorbia helioscopia. |
| 13a. Stem-leaves narrowly linear, less than 3 mm. wide (2-4 dm. high; late spring and summer) | Cypress Spurge, Euphorbia cyparissias. |
| 13b. Stem-leaves narrowly oblong-spatulate, more than 5 mm. wide, and more than 3 times as long as wide (2-6 dm. high; summer) — 14. | |
| 13c. Stem-leaves obovate to nearly circular, not more than twice as long as wide (1-4 dm. high) — 15. | |
| 14a. Leaves at base of umbel narrow, resembling those on the stem | Spurge, Euphorbia esula. |
| 14b. Leaves at base of umbel broad, resembling those of the inflorescence | Spurge, Euphorbia lucida. |
| 15a. Upper stem-leaves distinctly narrowed at the base; introduced species of waste places (summer) | Spurge, Euphorbia peplus. |
| 15b. Upper stem-leaves rounded at the sessile base; native species of woodlands (spring and early summer) | Spurge, Euphorbia commutata. |
Small herbs growing in water or in mud, with opposite entire leaves and small inconspicuous axillary flowers, with neither calyx nor corolla. (Flowers in summer).
| 1a. Completely submerged; leaves all linear | Water Starwort, Callitriche autumnalis. |
| 1b. Submerged leaves linear, emersed and floating leaves obovate | Water Starwort, Callitriche palustris. |
Low evergreen shrubs, with the linear leaves completely rolled into a tube, and inconspicuous flowers without petals, in the axils of the leaves.
| One species in Michigan, 1-3 dm. high; leaves less than 1 cm. long; flowers in summer | Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum. |
Low herbs with alternate compound leaves and minute axillary flowers; sepals 3, petals 3, stamens 6.
| One species in Michigan, with stems 1-3 dm. long, and flowers in late spring | False Mermaid, Floerkea proserpinacoides. |
Shrubs or small trees, with milky or resinous juice, alternate compound leaves sometimes poisonous to the touch, and small clustered greenish or yellowish flowers.
| 1a. Leaflets 7 to many (1-5 m. high) (Sumach) — 2. | |
| 1b. Leaflets 3-5. | |
| 2a. Axis of the leaves wing-margined between the leaflets | Sumach, Rhus copallina. |
| 2b. Axis of the leaves not margined — 3. | |
| 3a. Leaflets entire | Poison Sumach, Rhus vernix. |
| 3b. Leaflets serrate — 4. | |
| 4a. Bark of the older stems glabrous | Sumach, Rhus glabra. |
| 4b. Bark of the older stems densely velvety-hairy | Sumach, Rhus typhina. |
| 5a. Terminal leaflet narrowed to a sessile base (5-20 dm. high) | Sumach, Rhus canadensis. |
| 5b. Terminal leaflet on a definite stalk, round or acute at base (3-8 dm. high, or climbing by hold-fast roots) | Poison Ivy, Rhus toxicodendron. |
Shrubs, with alternate simple leaves and small white or greenish axillary flowers in late spring and early summer; sepals, petals, and stamens each 4-6; fruit a berry.
Shrubs with simple leaves and inconspicuous flowers; sepals and petals each 4 or 5, the stamens of the same number and attached to a disk which fills the center of the flower; fruit showy, orange and red.
Shrubs with opposite trifoliate leaves and small axillary clusters of white flowers in spring; sepals, petals, and stamens each 5; ovary 3-celled, ripening into a large inflated 3-celled pod.
| One species in Michigan (2-5 m. high) | Bladder Nut, Staphylea trifolia. |
Trees or shrubs, with opposite, lobed or compound leaves and inconspicuous flowers; sepals about 5; petals the same number, or none; stamens 4-12; ovary 2-lobed, ripening into a pair of winged fruits.
| 1a. Leaves compound (tree; flowers appearing before the leaves) | Box Elder, Acer negundo. |
| 1b. Leaves simple (Maple) — 2. | |
| 2a. Shrubs or small trees; leaves 3-5-lobed; the lobes with regularly serrate margins (flowers greenish-yellow, appearing later than the leaves) — 3. | |
| 2b. Trees; leaves 3-7-lobed; margins of the lobes entire or incised, but never regularly serrate — 4. | |
| 3a. Leaves finely and sharply serrate; twigs smooth; bark conspicuously striped with white lines | Striped Maple, Acer pennsylvanicum. |
| 3b. Leaves coarsely and bluntly serrate; young twigs pubescent; bark not striped | Mountain Maple, Acer spicatum. |
| 4a. Angles between the leaf-lobes rounded (flowers greenish-yellow, appearing with the leaves) — 5. | |
| 4b. Angles between the leaf-lobes acute or obtuse, but not rounded (flowers purple, red, or yellowish, appearing before the leaves) — 6. | |
| 5a. Leaves glabrous beneath, or minutely pubescent on the veins | Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum. |
| 5b. Leaves downy beneath | Black Maple, Acer saccharum var. nigrum. |
| 6a. Middle leaf-lobe usually more than half the length of the leaf, narrowed at its base; broken twigs with a strong odor | Silver Maple, Acer saccharinum. |
| 6b. Middle leaf-lobe usually less than half the length of the leaf, its sides parallel or broadened at the base; broken twigs without strong odor | Red Maple, Acer rubrum. |
Trees, with opposite palmately compound leaves, and showy white or yellowish flowers in panicles in spring; sepals 5; petals 4 or 5; stamens about 7; fruit a smooth brown nut.
| 1a. Leaflets 7; buds viscid; corolla of 5 petals | Horse Chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum. |
| 1b. Leaflets 5; buds smooth; corolla of 4 petals | Buckeye, Aesculus glabra. |
Smooth herbs, with alternate simple leaves and showy flowers; one petal-like sepal prolonged into a spur; fruit explosive when ripe (5-10 dm. high; summer).
| 1a. Flowers pale-yellow, with a few red-brown spots | Touch-me-not, Impatiens pallida. |
| 1b. Flowers orange, thickly spotted with red-brown | Touch-me-not, Impatiens biflora. |
Shrubs, with simple leaves and small flowers in axillary or terminal clusters in early summer; sepals, petals, and stamens each 4 to 5, or petals none.
| 1a. Leaves with a single mid-vein; flowers in axillary clusters, greenish (Buckthorn) — 2. | |
| 1b. Leaves with 3-5 principal veins; flowers in dense terminal clusters, white (Red-root) — 3. | |
| 2a. Lateral veins 3-4 pairs (stout shrub, frequently thorny, escaped from cultivation) | Buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica. |
| 2b. Lateral veins 6-9 pairs (1 m. high or less; in swamps and bogs) | Buckthorn, Rhamnus alnifolia. |
| 3a. Leaves ovate, rounded or cordate at the base, 2-5 cm. wide or more (4-8 dm. high) | Red-root, Ceanothus americanus. |
| 3b. Leaves elliptical-lanceolate, 2 cm. wide or less (3-8 dm. high) | Red-root, Ceanothus ovatus. |
Shrubs, climbing by tendrils or hold-fast roots, with palmately lobed or palmately compound leaves and small greenish flowers in panicles or flattened clusters; petals and sepals each 4 or 5; fruit a berry.
| 1a. Leaves compound (summer) (Virginia Creeper) — 2. | |
| 1b. Leaves simple (late spring) (Grape) — 4. | |
| 2a. Branches of the tendrils chiefly ending in adhesive disks — 3. | |
| 2b. Branches of the tendrils twining, or rarely with a few disks | Virginia Creeper, Psedera vitacea. |
| 3a. Stem and foliage glabrous | Virginia Creeper, Psedera quinquefolia. |
| 3b. Stem and foliage pubescent, at least when young | Virginia Creeper, Psedera quinquefolia var. hirsuta. |
| 4a. Leaves conspicuously pubescent beneath — 5. | |
| 4b. Leaves glabrous beneath when mature, or pubescent on the veins only — 6. | |
| 5a. A tendril or flower-cluster opposite each leaf | Fox Grape, Vitis labrusca. |
| 5b. No tendril opposite each third leaf | Summer Grape, Vitis aestivalis. |
| 6a. Pith continuous through the joints of the stem | Fox Grape, Vitis rotundifolia. |
| 6b. Pith interrupted by the solid joints — 7. | |
| 7a. Leaf-lobes with rounded angles between them | Summer Grape, Vitis bicolor. |
| 7b. Leaf-lobes with sharp angles between them — 8. | |
| 8a. Leaves coarsely toothed, unlobed or slightly 3-lobed | Frost Grape, Vitis cordifolia. |
| 8b. Leaves sharply toothed, prominently lobed | Frost Grape, Vitis vulpina. |
Trees, with alternate, simple, palmately veined leaves, and clusters of fragrant white flowers in late spring arising from the middle of a leaf-like bract; sepals and petals each 5; stamens numerous, but united into 5 sets.
| One species in Michigan | Basswood, Tilia americana. |
Herbs with alternate leaves; sepals and petals each 5; stamens numerous, united by their filaments to form a tube surrounding the styles; ovary many-celled.
| 1a. Flowers yellow (summer and autumn) — 2. | |
| 1b. Flowers pale-yellow, with a dark center (2-4 dm. high; late summer) | Flower-of-an-hour, Hibiscus trionum. |
| 1c. Flowers white to red or blue, never yellow — 3. | |
| 2a. Leaves broadly heart-shape (10-15 dm. tall) | Velvet Leaf, Abutilon theophrasti. |
| 2b. Leaves ovate-lanceolate (2-5 dm. tall) | Sida, Sida spinosa. |
| 3a. Calyx subtended by 6 to many bractlets which are sometimes united at base (summer) — 4. | |
| 3b. Calyx subtended by 3 bractlets, or by none — 6. | |
| 4a. Flowers 2-4 cm. wide (5-10 dm. high; flowers pink) | Marsh Mallow, Althaea officinalis. |
| 4b. Flowers 7-15 cm. wide (8-15 dm. high; flowers pink to nearly white) (Rose Mallow) — 5. | |
| 5a. Leaves densely pubescent below | Rose Mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos. |
| 5b. Leaves glabrous | Rose Mallow, Hibiscus militaris. |
| 6a. Petals prominently notched at the end or reverse heart-shape (Mallow) — 7. | |
| 6b. Petals obtuse or truncate (summer) — 11. | |
| 7a. Flowers 1-1.5 cm. wide — 8. | |
| 7b. Flowers 2-5 cm. wide (3-8 dm. high; flowers in summer) — 9. | |
| 8a. Stems procumbent, prostrate, or spreading (spring, summer, and autumn) | Mallow, Malva rotundifolia. |
| 8b. Stems erect (10-15 dm. high; summer) | Mallow, Malva verticillata. |
| 9a. Leaves with prominent but shallow lobes; flowers axillary | Mallow, Malva sylvestris. |
| 9b. Leaves deeply lobed or cleft; flowers in the upper axils, producing a raceme-like cluster — 10. | |
| 10a. Lobes of the leaf dentate or incised | Mallow, Malva alcea. |
| 10b. Lobes of the leaf pinnately cleft into linear or narrowly oblong divisions | Mallow, Malva moschata. |
| 11a. Flowers white (1-2 m. high) | Virginia Mallow, Sida hermaphrodita. |
| 11b. Flowers purple or pink (3-5 dm. high, spreading) | Poppy Mallow, Callirhoe triangulata. |
Herbs or shrubs, with opposite entire leaves dotted with translucent glands; flowers usually yellow (or pink); sepals and petals each 5; stamens 5 to many; ovary with 3-5 styles. (St. John's-wort.)
| 1a. Shrubs (4-8 dm. high; flowers yellow, summer) — 2. | |
| 1b. Herbs (flowers in summer) — 3. | |
| 2a. Styles 5 | St. John's-wort, Hypericum kalmianum. |
| 2b. Styles 3 | St. John's-wort, Hypericum prolificum. |
| 3a. Flowers pinkish, 15 mm. broad (3-5 dm. high, in swamps) | Marsh St. John's-wort, Hypericum virginicum. |
| 3b. Flowers yellow — 4. | |
| 4a. Flowers about 4 cm. wide; principal leaves 5-10 cm. long (7-15 dm. tall) | St. John's-wort, Hypericum ascyron. |
| 4b. Flowers 8-25 mm. wide; stamens 15 or more — 5. | |
| 4c. Flowers 1-10 mm. wide; stamens 12 or fewer (1-6 dm. high) — 7. | |
| 5a. Petals dotted with black (4-8 dm. high) — 6. | |
| 5b. Petals without black dots (2-5 dm. high) | St. John's-wort, Hypericum ellipticum. |
| 6a. Flowers 20-25 mm. wide; leaves of an oblong type, broadest near the middle | St. John's-wort, Hypericum perforatum. |
| 6b. Flowers 10-15 mm. wide; leaves of an ovate type, broadest below the middle | St. John's-wort, Hypericum punctatum. |
| 7a. Leaves minute, subulate, 1-3 mm. long | Pineweed, Hypericum gentianoides. |
| 7b. Leaves linear, with 1-3 principal veins, broadest near or above the middle | St. John's-wort, Hypericum canadense. |
| 7c. Leaves lanceolate, 4-6 times as long as broad, with 5-7 principal veins | St. John's-wort, Hypericum majus. |
| 7d. Leaves oblong, elliptic, or ovate, 1.5-3 times as long as broad — 8. | |
| 8a. Uppermost bracts linear | St. John's-wort, Hypericum mutilum. |
| 8b. Uppermost bracts resembling the leaves in shape, but smaller | St. John's-wort, Hypericum boreale. |
Small marsh herbs, with opposite leaves without translucent dots, and inconspicuous axillary flowers. (Stems 2-5 cm. long; flowers in summer.)
| One species in Michigan | Waterwort, Elatine americana. |
Small herbs or shrubs, with opposite or alternate entire leaves; flowers regular, with 5 sepals, 3 or 5 petals, and 3 to many stamens.
| 1a. Flowers yellow (early summer) — 2. | |
| 1b. Flowers greenish or purplish, minute, in panicles (late summer) (Pinweed) — 4. | |
| 2a. Leaves crowded, closely appressed to the branches; flowers 7 mm. wide (2-4 dm. high) | False Heather, Hudsonia tomentosa. |
| 2b. Leaves spreading; flowers 15-30 mm. wide (3-6 dm. high) (Frostweed) — 3. | |
| 3a. Petal-bearing flowers solitary | Frostweed, Helianthemum canadense. |
| 3b. Petal-bearing flowers few, racemose | Frostweed, Helianthemum majus. |
| 4a. Stem-leaves linear, 4 or more times as long as wide — 5. | |
| 4b. Stem-leaves oblong or elliptical, about 3 times as long as wide (2-6 dm. tall) — 8. | |
| 5a. Plant pale with dense appressed pubescence (2-4 dm. high) | Pinweed, Lechea stricta. |
| 5b. Plant green, pubescence sparse or none — 6. | |
| 6a. Leaves thread-like, seldom exceeding 1 mm. in width (1-3 dm. tall) | Pinweed, Lechea tenuifolia. |
| 6b. Leaves 1-5 mm. wide (2-6 dm. high) — 7. | |
| 7a. Leaves on the basal shoots narrowly lanceolate | Pinweed, Lechea intermedia. |
| 7b. Leaves on the basal shoots oblong-elliptic, about twice as long as wide | Pinweed, Lechea racemulosa. |
| 8a. Pubescence of spreading hairs | Pinweed, Lechea villosa. |
| 8b. Pubescence of appressed hairs | Pinweed, Lechea minor. |