Flora of North America species comparison

few to many, erect to ascending, rarely proximally decumbent or creeping and rooting at nodes, usually branched, glabrous, glabrate, or hairy, hairs spreading to ± retrorse, short to long, soft to stiff, rarely stipitate-glandular.

several, erect to weakly ascending, often leaning on nearby shrubs, much-branched, often with short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs sparse, spreading, short or long, soft, branched or unbranched, eglandular.

green to purple, linear to lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, narrowly oblong, or ovate, (1.5–)3–8(–9.5) cm, thin and not fleshy or slightly to moderately thickened and slightly fleshy, margins plane, rarely wavy, flat to involute, whole leaf sometimes recurved downward, 0(–5)-lobed, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes rounded;

lobes ascending-spreading, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute.

gray-green or green to purple to ± deep red, linear or linear-lanceolate, 2–5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane to ± wavy, flat or involute, 3–5(–7)-lobed, apex acuminate to acute;

lobes spreading-ascending, sometimes widely so, narrowly linear, apex acute or obtuse.

3–15(–22) × 1.5–5.5 cm, often bearing a thin, white, powdery exudate, especially on bract surfaces;

bracts greenish, scarlet, red, red-orange, or pale orange throughout, sometimes pink, magenta, pink-purple, yellow, greenish yellow, white, or salmon throughout, or proximally greenish, distally colored as above, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 0–5(–7)-lobed, central lobes sometimes distally apiculate;

lobes erect, linear to lanceolate, oblong, or oblanceolate, short or medium length, arising near or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse, rounded, or truncate, lateral ones rounded to acute or acuminate.

3–20 × 0.5–1.5 cm;

bracts green throughout, sometimes tinged dull purple, proximal sometimes linear-lanceolate, distal or all bracts oblong, 3–5(–7)-lobed;

lobes spreading to ascending, linear to oblanceolate, short to long, proximal lobes arising near mid length, sometimes wavy-margined, central lobe apex rounded to truncate, lateral ones obtuse to rounded.

0–5 mm.

slightly curved, 20–48 mm;

tube 12–26 mm;

abaxial lip usually not exserted, though often visible in front calyx cleft, beak partially to fully exserted;

beak adaxially green to yellow-green or whitish, (9–)14–25 mm;

abaxial lip incurved or ascending, deep green or green, sometimes deep purple or yellowish, reduced, not inflated, visible in front cleft, 0.5–3.5 mm, 5–20% as long as beak (to ca. 33% as long as beak in some populations of var. miniata);

teeth incurved or erect, green or white, 0.7–1.5 mm.

straight, 13–20 mm;

tube 5–7 mm;

beak short-exserted, sometimes shorter than abaxial calyx segments, adaxially yellow, rarely greenish, 7–10 mm;

abaxial lip pale green to yellowish, reduced, 0.5–1.5 mm, 7–17% as long as beak;

teeth reduced to apiculations, pale green to yellowish, 0.5–0.8 mm.

colored as bracts, 15–38 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–24 mm, 35–70% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1–)3–8(–12) mm, 5–30% of calyx length;

lobes linear or narrowly lanceolate to narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate or obtuse.

light green, cream, or light yellow, often appearing white from dense white-woolly pubescence, 10–18 mm;

abaxial clefts 5–6.5 mm, closed by intertwined hairs and appearing 2 mm deep, adaxial 2.2–4.2 mm, abaxial ca. 25% of calyx length, adaxial ca. 20% of calyx length, shallower (or appearing much shallower), than laterals, lateral 4.6–7.5 mm, ca. 50% of calyx length;

lobes: abaxial segments broad, paddle-shaped, 7 mm, inner surface of abaxial segments densely white-woolly, apex rounded to broadly obtuse, adaxial narrowly triangular, 5 mm, apex acute.

= 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144.