Flora of North America species comparison

generally fibrous.

gray, fissured.

gray to reddish brown, cracked and fissured.

alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 45°.

generally many, terete, whorled to fascicled, finely longitudinally grooved, internodes 1–10 cm.

pale green, becoming yellow with age, not viscid, glaucous, with numerous longitudinal grooves;

internodes 1–6 cm.

opposite (rarely in whorls of 3), 2–4(–8) mm, connate to 1/2–3/4 their length;

bases thickened, brown, completely deciduous;

apex obtuse.

simple, opposite and decussate or whorled, scalelike, connate at base to form sheath, generally ephemeral, mostly not photosynthetic;

resin canals absent.

1–several at node, ellipsoid, 4–8 mm, sessile or on short peduncles with 2 pairs of basal bracts;

bracts opposite, 5–9 pairs, yellow to light brown, obovate, 3–4 × 2–3 mm, membranous;

bracteoles slightly exceeding bracts;

sporangiophores 3–5 mm, exserted to 1/4–1/2 their length, with 6–9 sessile to short-stalked (less than 1 mm) microsporangia.

compound, 1–10 in whorls at nodes; each compound cone composed of 2–8 sets of opposite or whorled membranous bracts, proximal bracts empty, each distal bract subtending a small cone composed of 2 basally fused bracteoles subtending a sporangiophore bearing 2–10(–15) sessile to long-stalked, bilocular, apically dehiscent, pollen-producing microsporangia.

cones 1–several at node, nearly globose, 5–11 mm, on long peduncles, with 1–2 pairs of basal bracts;

bracts opposite, 3–5 pairs, nearly circular, 4–8 × 3–6 mm, herbaceous, with light brown to yellow-green center, occasionally pinkish tinged, margins entire.

cones compound, 1–10 in whorls at nodes of twigs; each compound cone sessile or on short to long peduncle, composed of 2–10 sets of overlapping, opposite or whorled, membranous or papery to fleshy bracts, proximal bracts empty, most distal bracts subtending 1 axillary cone composed of a pair of fused bracteoles enclosing a single-integumented ovule with integument projecting as tube from bracteole-envelope, envelope forming a leathery "seed coat" that is shed with seed.

buds conic, 1–3 mm, apex obtuse.

prolate, with 6–12 longitudinal furrows, not winged.

= 14, 28.