Rutaceae
Kitty Kohout
Key to Wisconsin Rutaceae
Author: John G. Zaborsky
- 1a.Leaves trifoliolate; flowers bisexual and/or unisexual; fruit a samara Ptelea
- 1b.Leaves pinnately-compound; flowers unisexual (the plants dioecious); fruit a 1-seeded follicle or drupe 2
- 2a.Stems and often leaf rachises armed with spines; leaves alternate; flowers axillary and appearing before the leaves; fruit a 1-seeded follicle Zanthoxylum
- 2b.Stems and leaves unarmed; leaves opposite; flowers borne on terminal panicles and appearing with the leaves; fruit a drupe Phellodendron
Members of this family possess oil glands on their leaves that give off an intense aroma when crushed. The family is most well-known for the cultivated fruit crops of the genus Citrus. The European common rue (Ruta graveolens L.) has long been cultivated for horticultural and medicinal purposes. It was collected in “waste places” and a cemetery (probably from cultivated plants in the latter) but is not established. It differs from our other species in being herbaceous and having large yellow flowers that produce capsular fruits.
