FLORA OF THE BLACK HILLS Keys to Genera, Species, Subspecies, and Varieties Robert D. Dorn Update of January 2017 Flora of the Black Hills It is always desirable to have identification keys available for the smallest area one is working in rather than to have to labor through keys covering a larger area, whether a state, region, or nation. My keys for the Black Hills which appeared in 1977 are long out of date. This update has eliminated about 70 species which were reported earlier for the Black Hills but have never been documented with a specimen or reliable literature source. About 180 species have been added to the Black Hills flora since 1977. A high percentage of recent new reports for which specimens could be examined turned out to be misidentified. There are other reports for which I was unable to examine specimens. Some of these may be valid but are not included here. For this update I have chose not to include any descriptions, habitats, nor locations to keep the treatment compact and easily available to all who wish to use it. Detailed descriptions can be found in “Flora of the Great Plains” and in “Flora North America” which is online. I have not attempted to evaluate name changes that appear in “Flora North America”. These are mostly followed but some are not for various reasons which may include nomenclatural problems or a differing use of ranks. The latter names can usually be easily cross-referenced. In addition, I may recognize varieties that these treatments do not. There are plenty of examples of varieties being very distinct in one area and totally and hopelessly intergradient in other areas. If I thought they might be useful, I have included them. If they are not relevant or significant for your purposes, they can simply be ignored. Normally I use the rank of variety for infraspecific taxa and occasionally the rank of subspecies for a related group of varieties. A few species lack a validly published name for their varieties, but have valid subspecies names. Rather than validate new varietal names, I have simply used the subspecies names in these few cases. Collection locations can often be found in herbaria databases online such as that for the Rocky Mountain Herbarium at the University of Wyoming. Traditionally, keys have used the Family for the base unit or rank, with keys to genera and species under the respective families. Recent genetic work has recircumscribed many traditional families and more of these changes can be expected in the future. I have therefore eliminated all use of families although some of the group keys may correspond to families. Genera and species are a lot simpler to update than are families. The actual area covered is shown on the map below. R. Dorn January 2017 ii Keys to Genera Key to the Major Groups 1. Disseminules spores; plants never having flowers or seeds; ferns, horsetails, club mosses, and other pteridophytes PTERIDOPHYTES below 1. Disseminules seeds; plants often having flowers; conifers and flowering plants 2. Ovules and seeds mostly borne on the surface of scales, the scales aggregated into a cone, occasionally the cone is fleshy and berry-like; evergreen trees and shrubs with needle-like or scale-like leaves; conifers GYMNOSPERMS below 2. Ovules and seeds enclosed in an ovary or fruit; trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs; leaves only rarely as above ANGIOSPERMS below PTERIDOPHYTES 1. Stems jointed and grooved lengthwise, each joint covered by a sheath which surrounds the stem, the sheath and its terminal teeth, if any, representing the leaves Equisetum 1. Stems not jointed or grooved lengthwise, sheaths lacking, leaves usually well developed 2. Leaves like a four-leaf clover Marsilea 2. Leaves not as above 3. Leaves simple, sessile, often scale-like, less than 2cm long; plants mostly moss-like or like young conifers 4. Strobili 4 sided; leaves usually with ligules Selaginella 4. Strobili cylindrical; leaves without ligules 5. Leaves of branches mostly in 6-8 longitudinal rows, all alike; upper vegetative branches round Lycopodium 5. Leaves of branches in 4 longitudinal rows, those of the upper and lower surfaces of branch mostly unlike the marginal; upper vegetative branches usually flattened or wing-margined Diphasiastrum 3. Leaves not as above; mostly fern-like plants 6. Sporangia on a specialized branch appearing to be continuous with the main stalk or appearing to arise from near the base of a vegetative leaf; roots thick, fleshy, and radially spreading; stems and petioles lacking scales Botrychium 6. Sporangia usually on the underside of vegetative-like leaves, the leaves sometimes slightly modified, rarely on a different-appearing specialized leaf arising directly from the rhizome; roots not thick, fleshy, and radially spreading; stems and petioles often bearing scales 7. Leaves with 1-5 linear leaflets at tip and appearing grass-like Asplenium 7. Leaves not as above 8. Leaves of 2 kinds, the vegetative either ovate to triangular, or elliptic and once compound or nearly so, longer than the fertile which have bead-like or rolled segments 9. Vegetative leaves widest at base Onoclea 9. Vegetative leaves widest at middle Matteuccia 8. Leaves usually all similar or nearly so (rarely dimorphic with vegetative shorter than fertile), shape and/or degree of compoundness often different than above 10. Sori near the leaflet margins, appearing elongate, usually at least partly covered by the rolled or reflexed leaflet margins (lower leaf surface rarely obscured by woolly hairs) 11. Leaves scattered along a horizontal rhizome, petioles green or yellow, sori mostly continuous around rolled leaflet margin; plants mostly in damp or well-drained soil and over 25cm high, often in large colonies Pteridium 11. Leaves densely clustered, or if scattered along a rhizome, then petioles reddish-brown or purplish and sori discontinuous and covered by reflexed tips of leaflet lobes; plants mainly in rock crevices and mostly less than 25cm high, seldom in large colonies 12. Leaves of 2 kinds, the fertile usually longer than the vegetative and with rolled margins Cryptogramma 12. Leaves mostly similar 13. Sori discontinuous and covered by reflexed tips of leaflet lobes; leaflets glabrous Adiantum 13. Sori appearing continuous around the leaflet margin, covered by the rolled margin; leaflets often hairy 14. Ultimate segments of leaves mostly over 5mm long; leaves glabrous or sparsely hairy beneath Pellaea 14. Ultimate segments of leaves much less than 5mm long; leaves woolly-hairy beneath Cheilanthes 10. Sori on or along veins between leaflet or segment margin and its midrib, mostly round in outline but sometimes elongate; leaflet margins usually flat, rarely rolled 15. Sori round in outline, indusia lacking; leaves simply pinnatifid or once compound with leaflets broadest at very base and nearly confluent Polypodium 15. Sori elongate in outline, or if round, then either indusia present or the leaves at least nearly twice compound or both 16. Sori elongate in outline (sometimes curved) 17. Leaves once compound, mostly less than 3cm wide Asplenium 17. Leaves at least twice compound, mostly 8cm or more wide Athyrium 16. Sori round in outline 18. Indusia present 19. Indusia mostly under the sori and divided into hair-like segments, or else covering sori like hoods from below 20. Indusia attached at center of sori, split into narrow, spreading segments; leaves clustered with persistent, old petiole bases; veins of lowest primary leaflet usually not prominent to margin Woodsia 20. Indusia attached toward the side of sori, covering sori like hoods which bend back at maturity; leaves scattered or in small clusters without persisting petiole bases; veins of lowest primary leaflet usually prominent to margin Cystopteris 19. Indusia mostly above sori, round or kidney-shaped in outline or nearly so, sometimes with a cleft on one side 21. Indusia with a cleft on one side; leaves at least nearly twice compound, elliptic or lanceolate 22. Leaves densely clustered, glabrous Dryopteris 22. Leaves scattered along a creeping rhizome, usually at least slightly hairy beneath Thelypteris 21. Indusia without a cleft; leaves once or occasionally twice compound, narrowly elongate Polystichum 18. Indusia lacking 23. Leaf blades broadly triangular; leaves scattered, without persisting petiole bases Gymnocarpium 23. Leaf blades elliptic to lanceolate; leaves usually crowded, sometimes with clustered, persistent petiole bases 24. Indusia attached at center of sori, split into narrow, spreading segments; leaves clustered with persistent, old petiole bases; veins of lowest primary leaflet usually not prominent to margin Woodsia 24. Indusia attached toward the side of sori, covering sori like hoods which bend back at maturity; leaves scattered or in small clusters without persisting petiole bases; veins of lowest primary leaflet usually prominent to margin Cystopteris GYMNOSPERMS 1. Leaves scale-like and opposite, or needle-like and whorled; cones berry-like; trees or shrubs Juniperus 1. Leaves linear or needle-like, spirally arranged or in clusters of 2-5; cones woody or subwoody; trees 2. Leaves borne in clusters of 2-5 Pinus 2. Leaves borne singly Picea ANGI0SPERMS 1. Plants submerged or floating-leaved aquatics, usually limp out of water (avoid temporarily flooded terrestrial or emergent plants) GROUP I p. 2 1. Plants emergent aquatics or terrestrial 1 2. Leaves mostly parallel-veined, simple, usually entire, rarely reduced to sheaths; flower parts in 3's or 6's (rarely 2's or 4's); vascular bundles scattered in stem; root system usually fibrous, rhizomatous, or bulbous; monocotyledonous herbs (rarely shrubby) GROUP II below 2. Leaves mostly net-veined (sometimes obscure), simple or compound, entire, toothed, or lobed, rarely lacking; flower parts usually in 2's, 4's, or 5's (rarely 3's) or the parts many; vascular bundles arranged in rings in the stem; root system various, often taprooted; dicotyledonous trees, shrubs, woody vines, or herbs, sometimes parasitic 3.