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Sanicula
See list of 4 species in this genusPlants of Sanicula bear two types of flowers—those that are bisexual (i.e., have stamens and carpels) with hooked bristles over the outer surface of the ovary and those that are unisexual and staminate. The distribution of these types of flowers is important. All species in New England have umbellets with both types of flowers, but some species also have umbellets with only staminate flowers. Reference: Pryer and Phillippe (1989).
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1a. Styles much exceeding the bristles of the fruit [Fig. 356], usually more than twice as long as the calyx; umbellets dimorphic—some with staminate and bisexual flowers intermixed and some with only staminate flowers, those with both types of flowers bearing 12–25 (–117) staminate flowers per umbellet; plants perennial
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2a. Sepals 1–2 mm long, rigid, narrow-subulate; schizocarps 4-6 mm long, subsessile, slightly exceeded by the persistent, staminate flower remnants; petals green-white
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2b. Sepals 0.5–1 mm long, soft, triangular; schizocarps 2–3.5 mm long, stipitate, slightly exceeding the persistent, staminate flower remnants; petals yellow-green
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1b. Styles exceeded by the bristles of the fruit [Fig. 355], usually not exceeding the length of the calyx (as long as 1.5 times the calyx length in S. canadensis var. grandis); umbellets usually monomorphic, all bearing bisexual and staminate flowers, the staminate flowers numbering 1–8 (–15) per umbellet ( S. canadensis var. grandis sometimes with umbellets containing only staminate flowers); plants biennial
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3a. Sepals 2–2.5 mm long, lanceolate, connivent into a beak and conspicuous in fruit, exceeding the bristles of the schizocarp; carpellate flowers sessile; surface of mericarps at base of bristles with +/- green-white aereolae
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3b. Sepals 0.6–1.5 mm long, subulate, inconspicuous in fruit, shorter than the bristles of the schizocarp; carpellate flowers on pedicels 0.5–1 mm long; surface of mericarps at base of bristles with green aereolae
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Each photo represents one species in this genus.