Flora of North America species comparison

mostly erect and branched, branches green, obtusely angled or striate, glabrate.

simple or more commonly branched throughout, mainly 2–8(–10) dm, branches mostly obtusely angled;

herbage scurfy, becoming glabrate.

alternate except the proximalmost, petiolate;

blade green on both sides, rhombic-lanceolate to lanceolate, oblong, or narrowly lance-oblong or hastate-ovate, 25–120 × 3–40(–75) mm, entire or toothed, proximal ones broadly cuneate or sometimes hastate subbasally with obliquely antrorse basal lobes, distal cauline leaves lanceolate and entire.

alternate or proximalmost opposite, short petiolate proximally, sessile and often cordate-clasping distally;

blade ovate to deltoid or oval, 4–30(–40) × 3–30 mm, base truncate or subhastate to rounded, margin entire or dentate, apex acute to obtuse.

compact or interrupted spiciform or paniculiform clusters.

in axillary glomerules.

mostly 5-merous.

in glomerules mainly in distal axils;

sepals 3–5.

dimorphic: brown, 2.5–3(–3.5) mm wide, or black, 1–2 mm wide;

radicle of brown seeds subbasal to median, antrorse.

brown, 1–2 mm wide.

bracteoles green becoming black, rhombic to rhombic-triangular, or ovate-rhombic, compressed, ± uniformly sized, 2–7(–20) mm, base mostly hastate, acute, margin united almost to middle, entire or sparingly toothed, surfaces tuberculate.

bracteoles scarcely compressed, 2–3 mm and as wide, apex truncate to broadly rounded, with 3 (or more) teeth across summit, surfaces smooth (or rarely tuberculate).

= 36.

= 18.