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The Fabaceae, the legume, pea, or bean family, is one of the largest plant families. Here are some key characteristics:

1. Nitrogen Fixation: Plants have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their root nodules. This allows them to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can use for growth, making them important for soil fertility.
2. Compound Leaves: Each leaf is composed of multiple leaflets arranged along a central stalk called a rachis.
3. Flower Structure: Typically bilaterally symmetrical and consist of five petals: an uppermost banner petal, two lateral wings, and two lower petals fused together to form a boat-shaped structure called the keel.
4. Fruit Type: Pods, legumes, capsules, and samaras.
5. Cultural Importance: Cultivated for food, forage, timber, and other purposes. Examples include beans, peas, lentils, soybeans, alfalfa, clover, and peanuts.
6. Diversity: One of the largest families of flowering plants, comprising over 19,000 species distributed worldwide. This diversity includes annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees adapted to a wide range of habitats, from tropical rainforests to arid deserts.
7. Environmental Role: Due to their ability to fix nitrogen, plants play a crucial role in ecological succession, soil improvement, and ecosystem stability. They are often used in agroforestry, crop rotation, and soil conservation practices to enhance soil fertility and productivity.

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The Loasaceae family, the Loasa or stickleaf family, is characterized by:

1. Hairs: Stinging or glandular hairs on their stems and leaves.
2. Leaves: Simple, usually lobed, and alternately arranged along the stems.
3. Flowers: Colorful and showy flowers, varying in color, including shades of yellow, orange, and red, often with an inferior ovary.
4. Petals: Flowers in this family typically have five petals.
5. Habit: Herbs, shrubs or trees.
6. Ecological Diversity: Loasaceae plants inhabit a wide range of ecosystems, from deserts to temperate forests, and can be found in both North and South America.
7. Spiral Inflorescence: The flowers of some species are arranged in a spiral pattern along the stem, creating an attractive inflorescence.
8. Heterostyly: Some species in the Loasaceae family exhibit heterostyly, a reproductive mechanism where flowers with different lengths of styles and stamens are present in the same species. This promotes cross-pollination and increases genetic diversity.
9. Cultural Uses: Certain members of the Loasaceae family have been used in traditional medicine for various purposes, such as treating skin conditions or respiratory ailments.
10. Xerophytic Adaptations: Many species in this family have adaptations for surviving in arid environments, such as succulent leaves or deep root systems.

The Iridaceae, the iris family, contains these characteristics:

1. Flowers: Typically characterized by having six tepals (petals and sepals that look alike) arranged in two whorls of three. The flowers are often showy and have a unique structure that attracts pollinators. All but one genera (Isophysis) have inferior ovaries.
2. Leaves: Usually long, narrow, and sword-shaped. They may be basal or alternate along the stem.
3. Inflorescence: The flowers are often clustered in spikes or umbels, sometimes solitary.
4. Root System: Many have rhizomes or corms.
5. Diversity: The family is highly diverse, containing numerous genera and species distributed across the globe, especially in temperate and subtropical regions. Some well-known genera include Iris, Crocus, Gladiolus, and Sisyrinchium.
6. Habitat: Found in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands, from dry, arid environments to moist, marshy areas.
7. Cultural Importance: Many species are cultivated for their ornamental value. Crocus species are cultivated for saffron, a valuable spice derived from the stigmas of Crocus sativus flowers.
8. Chemical Composition: Some contain compounds with pharmaceutical properties. For example, compounds found in saffron have been studied for their potential antioxidant, anticancer, and antidepressant effects.
9. Pollination: Flowers are pollinated by a variety of insects, birds, and sometimes even mammals. Some have specialized structures, colors, and fragrances to attract specific pollinators.
10. Reproductive Strategy: Members of the Iridaceae family reproduce both sexually, through seeds, and asexually, through vegetative propagation via rhizomes or corms. This reproductive versatility contributes to their ability to colonize diverse habitats and environments.

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Jepson key to Iridaceae

The Malvaceae, or mallow family, is characterized by the following features:

1. Flowers: Typically large, showy, and with five petals. They are radially symmetrical and have a wide range of colors, including white, pink, purple, and yellow.
2. Inflorescence: Flowers are commonly borne in clusters or solitary. The inflorescence can be terminal, axillary, or leaf-opposed, depending on the species.
3. Sepals and Petals: The sepals are typically fused, while the petals are usually distinct.
4. Stamens: Numerous stamens, often fused into a column surrounding the pistil(s).
5. Pistil(s): Composed of several carpels fused together. Superior ovary.
6. Fruit: Capsule or a schizocarp, which splits open when mature to release seeds.
7. Leaves: Leaves are generally alternate, simple, and palmately veined. Ovate to palmate to lobed. Often have stellate hairs.
8. Stem and Habit: Small herbs to shrubs and even trees.
9. Mucilaginous Sap: Many species produce a mucilaginous sap, which gives them a slimy or slippery texture when crushed. This characteristic is particularly common in plants such as okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and marshmallow (Althaea officinalis).
10. Cultural Importance: Several members of the Malvaceae family are important for fiber, food, ornamental purposes, medicine, or wood. Examples include cotton (Gossypium spp.), hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.),  Theobroma cacao (cacao, chocolate), Cola nitida (cola), Abelmoschus (okra) and Ochroma pymamidale (balsa).

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The Salicaceae, the willow family, has the following charateristics:

1. Diversity: Contains around 56 genera and over 1,000 species.
2. Habitat: Found in temperate and subtropical regions around the world, often near water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and streams.
3. Deciduous Trees and Shrubs: Most species are deciduous, shedding their leaves seasonally. They can range from small shrubs to large trees.
4. Simple Leaves: Often alternate.
5. Catkins: Produce clusters of flowers called catkins, which often appear before or with the leaves in spring.
6. Dioecious or Monoecious: Salicaceae species can be either dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, or monoecious, meaning both male and female flowers are found on the same plant.
7. Wind-Pollinated: Flowers are typically wind-pollinated, lacking showy petals or attractive scent.
8. Cultural Importance: Often cultivated for erosion control and for their flexible branches used in basket weaving. Also cultivated for timber production, papermaking, and as ornamental trees.
9. Adaptations to Moist Environments: Many species have adaptations to moist environments, such as the ability to tolerate waterlogged soil or even grow in aquatic habitats.
10. Chemical Properties: Some species contain salicylates, compounds related to aspirin, which can have medicinal properties.

Jepson key to Salicaceae

Video describing identification of willows

Characteristics of the Liliaceae, or Lily family:
Bulbs or Rhizomes: Perennial herb from membranous bulb or scaly rhizome. These underground storage organs allow the plants to survive adverse conditions and produce new shoots when conditions become favorable.
Stem: underground or erect, branched or not. 
Leaf: basal or cauline, alternate, subopposite, or whorled. 
Inflorescence: raceme, panicle, umbel-like or not. 
Flower: 6 Sepals and petals in 2 generally petal-like whorls, often showy; stamens 3 or 6, filaments free or fused to perianth, anthers attached at base or near middle; ovary usually superior, style 1, entire or 3-lobed. 
Fruit: capsule or berry. 
Seed: 3 to many, flat or angled, brown to black.
Chemical composition: some species contain chemical compounds of medicinal or toxicological importance, such as alkaloids, glycosides, or other secondary metabolites.
Habitat: Liliaceae plants are found in a variety of habitats, including temperate and subtropical regions. They can be found in grasslands, woodlands, and even desert environments.

Jepson video showing a member of the Liliaceae

Jepson key to the family

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The Onagraceae, the evening primrose family, has the following characteristics:

1. Flowers: four petals and sepals, radial symmetry, bisexual.
2. Inflorescence: clustered in spikes, racemes, or panicles, though some species may have solitary flowers.
3. Sepals and Petals: Petals are larger and more colorful than the sepals.
4. Stamens: twice as many stamens as petals. The stamens are arranged in two whorls, with the outer whorl having twice as many stamens as the inner whorl.
5. Ovary: usually inferior, situated below the attachment of other floral parts.
6. Fruit: capsule, which splits open to release numerous small seeds.
7. Habitat: temperate and subtropical regions. Often found in moist or wet areas such as marshes, riverbanks, and along streams, but some species can also tolerate drier conditions.
8. Importance: Some species are cultivated as ornamental plants for their attractive flowers. Some species have medicinal or culinary uses.
9. Notable Genera: The Onagraceae family includes several notable genera such as Oenothera (evening primroses), Epilobium (willowherbs), and Fuchsia (fuchsias).
10. Adaptations: Many Onagraceae species have adaptations for pollination by nocturnal insects, such as moths, due to their evening blooming habits. Some species also have specialized floral structures to accommodate specific pollinators.

Characteristics of the Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family:

1. Herbaceous or shrubby habit: wide range of growth forms, from low-growing ground covers to tall shrubs.
2. Alternate leaves: Leaves are typically alternate (though sometimes opposite or whorled), simple, and often hairy. The hairs can be quite noticeable and are often stiff or bristly.
3. Inflorescence: Usually a scorpioid cyme. Sometimes racemes, or helicoid cymes. The inflorescences can be compact or elongated, depending on the species.
4. Flower characteristics: Typically bisexual and have five sepals and five fused petals, forming a distinctive tubular or funnel-shaped corolla. The flowers often have a prominent throat and may be blue, pink, purple, white, or yellow.
5. Fruit: The fruit is usually a schizocarp, which splits into four nutlets or mericarps when mature. These nutlets often have spines or prickles.
6. Chemical composition: Many species contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can be toxic to humans and animals if ingested.
7. Ecological diversity: Found in various habitats worldwide, including temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions.
8. Medicinal importance: Borage (Borago officinalis) is cultivated for its edible leaves and flowers, and some species are used as dyes and in traditional medicine.

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Jepson key to family

Characteristics of the Cucurbitaceae (Cucumber or Squash Family):
• Herbaceous vines
• Coiling tendrils for climbing
• Alternate leaves, typically palmately lobed
• Most species have unisexual flowers, meaning individual plants produce either male or female flowers. Some species produce both male and female flowers on the same plant.
• Five petals, often fused
• Fleshy fruits, such as cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash, and gourds
• Extensive hybridization, leading to a wide array of cultivars with diverse traits, flavors, and appearances.

Check out this Jepson YouTube Video on the Cucurbitaceae.

Jepson key to the Cucurbitaceae