Flora of North America species comparison

few to many, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes with inconspicuous, short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs spreading to erect, long, soft to stiff, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones.

subterranean or aerial;

aerial stems prostrate to decumbent, ascending, or erect [viny].

green, sometimes purple-tinged, margins sometimes red-brown, linear or narrowly to broadly lanceolate to narrowly oblong, oblanceolate, or ovate, 1–8.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane or wavy, involute or flat, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed, apex acute to rounded or acuminate;

lobes ascending, linear to narrowly lanceolate, much narrower than mid blade, apex acute to rounded.

deciduous, cauline or basal and cauline, rarely basal only or absent, sometimes scales, opposite, alternate, whorled, or spiral, simple;

stipules absent;

petiole present or absent;

blade usually not fleshy or leathery, rarely fleshy, leathery, or chartaceous, margins entire, toothed, or lobed.

3–16(–30 in fruit) × 2–5 cm;

bracts proximally greenish to dull reddish purple, distally red to orange or yellow, sometimes crimson, scarlet, orange-red, red-orange, or burnt orange, often becoming paler and/or duller with age, lanceolate to oblong, ovate, or obovate, 3–5(–11)-lobed;

lobes spreading to ascending, linear to oblong or narrowly lanceolate, medium length or long, arising at or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded or truncate, sometimes emarginate, truncate, or acute, lateral ones acute to obtuse.

terminal and/or axillary, racemes, panicles, spikes, corymbs, or flowers 1 or 2.

bisexual, perianth and androecium hypogynous;

sepals (0 or)2–5(–8), connate, calyx radially or bilaterally symmetric;

petals [4 or]5, connate, corolla bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate or strongly bilabiate, tubular, funnelform, campanulate, salverform, or club-shaped, sometimes cylindric, subrotate, or curved;

stamens (2 or)4, adnate to corolla tube, didynamous, subequal, or equal, staminodes 0 or 2;

pistil 1, 2[or 3]-carpellate, ovary superior, 1- or 2-locular, placentation axile, sometimes parietal;

ovules anatropous or campylotropous-like (Rhinanthus), unitegmic, tenuinucellate;

style 1;

stigma 1.

slightly curved, 17–38 mm;

tube 12–18 mm;

beak exserted, adaxially green, sometimes yellowish, rarely red-brown, 9–20 mm;

abaxial lip ascending, deep green, reduced, curved, 0.5–3 mm, to 10–33% length of beak;

teeth incurved, reduced, green, 0.5–1.2 mm.

colored as bracts, sometimes with a yellow band proximal to red to orange apices, or ca. 1/2 yellowish and 1/2 reddish, 12–35 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 7–12 mm, 33–65% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2–7 mm, 15–30% of calyx length;

lobes triangular, linear, or oblong to lanceolate, apex acute or obtuse to rounded.

capsules, dehiscence loculicidal and/or septicidal or indehiscent (Conopholis).

1–2500(–5000), brown or black, sometimes tan, white, yellow, amber, or gray, ovoid to ellipsoid, reniform, globular, oblong, or angled;

embryo straight, endosperm present.

= 24, 48, 96.