Flora of North America species comparison

simple or more commonly divaricately branching throughout, branches terete;

herbage whitish scurfy to glabrate.

erect or forming sprawling tangled clumps and mostly green;

branches erect-ascending, proximal ones opposite and ascending, sparsely scurfy when young, obtusely angled.

alternate, short petiolate, blade prominently 3-veined, ovate to lanceolate, mainly 12–80 × 6–50 mm, margin irregularly sinuate-dentate and often subhastately lobed or rarely some entire, apex acute to obtuse.

alternate or only proximalmost opposite, all shortly petiolate;

blade green on both surfaces, linear, linear-oblong, linear-lanceolate, or oblong, (10–)25–80(–120) × 2–8(–12) mm, thin, gradually narrowed, margin mostly entire or some sinuate-dentate with antrorse teeth, apex obtuse to acuminate.

of long, dense or interrupted hairy spikes often forming panicle to 20 cm; staminate flowers 4–5-merous.

in axillary glomerules or interrupted terminal spikes.

with 4 or 5 sepals.

in axillary glomerules of 5–10.

dimorphic: brown, 2–2.5 mm wide, or black, 1–2 mm wide;

radicle inferior.

dimorphic: brown, 2–2.8 mm wide, round and ± flattened, or black, 1.5–2 mm wide, round, evenly convex;

radicle inferior.

bracteoles prominently 3–5-veined, sessile or short stipitate, (3–)4–6(–10) mm and as wide, sometimes subhastately lobed at base, conspicuously dentate, sharply tuberculate to almost smooth on faces.

bracteoles sessile, triangular to ovate or ovate-rhombic, (3–)5–7 mm, mostly denticulate, rarely subentire, faces tuberculate almost distinct, green becoming brown or black.

= 18.

= 18.