[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: To overcome the well-known difficulties inherent in the identification of 77 species belonging to the 20 genera which represent the Chenopodiaceae in the flora of Egypt, two non-indented keys were constructed using the DELTA key-generating programs. One key was based on 46 morphological characters requiring no more than a hand-lens for use in identifying the plants in the field. Ten characters of stem anatomy were added to the dataset and used to construct the second key which serves the dual function of identifying specimens in the laboratory and confirming results obtained by the first key. While specimens of only 74 of the species were found in the four major herbaria (ALEX, CAI, CAID and CAIM), a re-run of the programs can easily bridge the gap in the two keys upon discovery of specimens of the three missing species.
Taeckholmia. 11/2012; 28:209-225.