The following key is based on vegetative rather than floral characteristics and is designed to identify with a 10X hand lens the correct families of individual dicotyledonous trees and shrubs found on the Springfield property of the Archbold Tropical Research and Education Centre (ATR&EC) in Dominica.  Springfield is located at 380m elevation in the Antrim Valley north of Roseau in the lower rain forest zone.  Secondary forest characterizes most of the property which between 1936 and 1979 was cultivated and comprised of Springfield and Mt. Joy estates. 
Species belonging to thirty-five families of Dicotyledoneae including three sub-families have been identified.  Names of genera appear in parentheses when the genera noted are the only ones having the given character(s) and are the only genera of the family found at Springfield.  New families, if found, will be added as necessary in the future and the key updated.

 Vegetative Characteristic                                                                                               Family

1.   Compound leaves                                                                                                          2
1.   Simple leaves                                                                                                                 10

2.   Opposite leaves                                                                                                    Bignoniaceae  
2.   Alternate leaves                                                                                                             3

3.   Leaves with stipules                                                                                                       4
3.   Leaves without stipules                                                                                                 7

4.   Leaves palmate                                                                                                   Bombacaceae
4.   Leaves pinnate or bipinnate                                                                                           5

5.   Leaves imparipinnate                                                                         Papilionaceae (Fabaceae)
5.   Leaves paripinnate or bipinnate                                                                                     6

6.   Leaves paripinnate (Inga spp.) or bipinnate with nectaries                Mimosaceae (Fabaceae)
6.   Leaves paripinnate or bipinnate without nectaries                        Caesalpiniaceae (Fabaceae)

7.   Leaves with pellucid dots                                                                                                      Rutaceae
7.   Leaves without pellucid dots                                                                                         8

8.   Leaves with mango or turpentine odor and without bitter taste                                       Burseraceae
8.   Leaves without mango or turpentine odor                                                                     9

9.  Leaves with bitter taste, clear sap                                                                      Simaroubaceae
9.  Leaves with milky sap                                                                                               Caricaceae

10.   Leaves opposite or whorled                                                                                         11
10.   Leaves alternate                                                                                                           17

11.   Leaves with stipules                                                                                                     12
11.   Leaves without stipules                                                                                               13

12.  Stipules interpetiolar                                                                                                Rubiaceae
12.  Stipules intrapetiolar or free                                                                              Malpighiaceae

13.  Leaves with scalariform veins                                                                       Melastomataceae
13.  Leaves without scalariform veins                                                                                 14

14.  Leaf veins prominent                                                                                                    15
14.  Leaf veins obscure, finger-like with creamy latex                                                  Clusiaceae

15.  Leaves with pinnate veins and with fused marginal vein,                                       Myrtaceae
            lacking latex
15.  Leaves with pinnate, but open veins                                                                             16

16.  Branchlets quadrangular                                                                                      Verbenaceae
16.  Branchlets with white latex                                                                                Apocynaceae

17.  Leaves with stipules                                                                                                      18
17.  Leaves without stipules                                                                                                27

18.  Bark stringy when peeled from twig                                                                            19
18.  Bark not stringy when peeled from twig                                                                                  21

19.  Stems mucilaginous, leaves 3-5 veined                                                                         20
19.  Stems not mucilaginous, leaves 3-5 veined                                                      Elaeocarpaceae

20.  Petals yellow (Guazuma) or united sepals a cream color (Sterculia)                   Sterculiaceae
20.  Petals orange-red to dark crimson (Hibiscus)                                                         Malvaceae

21.  Stems with white latex                                                                                                 22
21.  Stems without white latex                                                                                            23

22.  Prominent terminal stipule scar, false marginal leaf vein,                                        Moraceae
            transverse lenticels on the stem
22.  Extrafloral nectaries present, leaves spirally arranged                                      Euphorbiaceae

leaves palmately lobed, white beneath
23.  Stems without exudation                                                                                                          24

24.  Stipules intrapetiolar                                                                                                     25
24.  Stipules not intrapetiolar                                                                                               26

25.  Stipules hairy, bark brittle                                                                            Chrysobalanaceae
25.  Stipules not hairy, bark not brittle, central leaf area different texture           Erythroxylaceae           

26.  Leaf nodes swollen, inflorescence a vertical spike                                                 Piperaceae
26.  Trunk fluted, blaze turns orange                                                                    Dichapetalaceae           

27.  Bark stringy                                                                                                                  28
27.  Bark not stringy                                                                                                            30

28.  Leaves aromatic, distichous                                                                                  Annonaceae           
28.  Leaves not aromatic or distichous                                                                                29

29.  Sympodial branching, verticillate at ends (Cordia)                                             Boraginaceae
29.  Nonsympodially branched shrub or tree to 15m, bitter inner bark                   Thymelaeaceae

30.  Leaves aromatic (or with bad odor)                                                                              31
30.  Leaves nonaromatic                                                                                                      34

31.  Leaves with mango odor, resinous exudate is dark upon drying                                  Anacardiaceae
31.  Leaves with other than mango odor                                                                             32

32.  Leaves with bad odor, often having stellate hairs                                                   Solanaceae
32.  Leaves with pleasant smell                                                                                           33

33.  Leaves with pellucid dots, citrus smell                                                                      Rutaceae
33.  Leaves without pellucid dots, spirally arranged, sulcate stem                                 Lauraceae

34.  Leaves with white latex                                                                                                35
34.  Leaves with other than white latex or none                                                                  36

35.  Turbinate buds, fruit in pairs, finger-like glands                                                             Apocynaceae
35.  Buds not turbinate, bottle-shaped petiole                                                                           Sapotaceae

distichous

sympodial branching

Acknowledgements:
            I am grateful to Dr. Humberto Jiménez of the Tropical Science Center, San Jose, Costa Rica for helpful instruction in tropical dendrology and to Dr. Steven Hill of the Illinois Natural History Survey whose Springfield herbarium collection of the flora of Dominica was invaluable in the preparation of this key.

May 4, 2006