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Key to families | Table of families and genera




Bruce G. Baldwin, adapted from Holmgren (2003)

Annual, generally glabrous, generally powdery when young. Stem: prostrate to ascending, simple or branched from base, not branched distally, ultimate branches not thread-like. Leaf: generally reduced distally on stem, ± lanceolate to oblanceolate or spoon-shaped, entire or not, tip obtuse to rounded. Inflorescence: clusters generally axillary, 4–15-flowered; bracts leaf-like. Flower: bisexual or pistillate; sepals (0)1–3, ± green; stamens 0–1(2); stigmas 2, fused at base. Fruit: ± flattened; wall pitted to tubercled, free from seed or not. Seed: generally vertical, lenticular, smooth, brown to black.
5 species: temperate western North America, South America, central and northeastern Asia. (Greek: 1 scale, from sepal number in most species) [Holmgren 2003 FNANM 4:300–301] Monolepis pusilla moved to Micromonolepis.

Key to Monolepis

1. Proximal leaves with >= 2 teeth near base, hastate or not, distal ± entire; fruit 1.1–1.5 mm, wall minutely pitted, adherent to seed ..... M. nuttalliana

1' All leaves entire; fruit 0.5–0.7 mm, wall minutely papillate, free from seed ..... M. spathulata

