Flora of North America species comparison

green and striped, often blue-green when fresh, weakly ridged, sparsely scurfy to glabrous.

erect, mostly branched.

petiole 0.2–2.5(–3.5) cm;

blade all entire or some or all triangular or lance-hastate with lobes spreading to antrorse, 5–100 × 3–80 mm, base abruptly to narrowly cuneate, entire or irregularly toothed.

mostly opposite or mostly alternate;

petiole 0.3–4+ cm;

blade green on both sides, ovate or ovate-lanceolate to cordate-hastate at base, 15–180 × 8–135 mm, margin entire or more rarely irregularly toothed or lobed, apex attenuate to acuminate or rounded.

of spikes disposed in leafless panicles.

in loose glomerules, arranged in foliose, interrupted spikes or axillary, terminating stems and branches.

5-merous.

dimorphic, some ebracteolate and with 5-parted perianth, others without perianth enclosed by a pair of sessile or very shortly stipitate bracteoles.

dimorphic: brown, 2.5–4 mm wide (often the only ones present), or black, (1.2–)1.5–2.9(–3) mm wide;

radicle median, ± antrorse, of brown seed basal and spreading.

of ebracteate flowers black, horizontal, convex, 1–2 mm wide, lustrous;

those of bracteolate flowers olivaceous brown, vertical, flat, 3–4.5 mm wide, dull.

green, becoming black or reddish to yellow brown, sessile or some short stipitate, venation obscure, ovate-triangular to rhombic-triangular, 5–13 mm, margin united almost to middle, with few irregular teeth or entire, apex abruptly acuminate, faces irregularly muricate, tuberculate, or smooth, inflated, spongy inner layer strongly developed at bracteole base.

bracteoles samaralike, orbicular to oval or ovate, compressed, 5–18 mm, united only at base, entire, faces smooth.

= 18, 36.

= 18.