KEYS TO LYCIEAE

FLORA OF CHINA

1a. Berry purple-black, globose; thorns occurring singly at nodes; leaves narrowly linear, fleshy; corolla tube 3-4 x as long as limb and lobes; filaments pubescent…L. ruthenicum

1b. Berry red or orange-yellow, elongated or sometimes globose; thorns usually clustered with leaves and flowers, rarely lacking; leaves broader, linear-lanceolate, lanceolate, or elliptic, fleshy or not; corolla tube ca. 2 x as long as limb and lobes or shorter; filaments glabrous or pubescent.

            2a. Corolla lobed about ¼ way down; filaments sparsely pubescent near base.

3a. Branches slender, flexible; leaves narrow, widest near middle; calyx truncate at apex or unequally divided, lobes not ciliate; apex of young fruit mucronate from a persistent style…L. truncatum

3b. Branches stout, stiff; leaves usually oblanceolate, sometimes broadly so; calyx lobed halfway down, lobes usually ciliate; apex of young fruit rounded…L. dasystemum

2b. Corolla lobed 1/3 way down or more; filaments and corolla with a villous ring just about point of insertion.

4a. Corolla less than 7 mm; stamens manifestly exceeding corolla; seeds ca. 1 mm; berry globose, ca. 4 mm…L. yunnanense

4b. Corolla more than 9 mm; stamens shorter than or slightly exceeding corolla; seeds 2-3 mm; berry oblong or ellipsoid, more than 5 mm.

5a. Calyx usually 2-lobed; corolla lobes marginally glabrescent, tube and limb funnelform, obviously longer than lobes…L. barbarum

5b. Calyx usually 3-lobed or 4- or 5-dentate; corolla lobes marginally pubescent, tube cylindric or funnelform, about as long as lobes.

6a. Corolla tube cylindric, longer than lobes; leaves lanceolate…L. cylindricum

6b. Corolla tube funnelform, shorter than or subequally lobes; leaves mostly broadly or narrowly ovate, rhomboid, or elliptic…L. chinense