Flora of North America species comparison

erect [to prostrate], unbranched or branched.

erect, virgate, bluish green and often glaucescent, or bright green, thick, hollow, fleshy, 2–180 cm.

cauline, sometimes also in basal rosette, alternate;

stipules absent;

sessile or petiolate;

blade pinnatifid to lobed, [subentire].

in a well-defined basal rosette, usually withered by anthesis, and also cauline;

basal 2.5–10(–30) × 0.6–2.5(–6.5) cm, petiole 0–6 cm, blade narrowly elliptic, margins irregularly pinnatifid;

cauline very much reduced distally, 1–8 × (0.1–)0.3–1(–1.6) cm, petiole 0–3 cm, blade narrowly elliptic, margins irregularly pinnatifid.

open spikes, erect.

bisexual, actinomorphic, buds erect;

floral tube relatively short, deciduous (with sepals, petals, and stamens) after anthesis, lined with a lobed, fleshy nectary disc [or with rounded, fleshy disc at base of style];

sepals 4, reflexed separately, in pairs, or as a unit, (rarely spreading);

petals 4, yellow, fading orangish red, usually finely flecked with red near base;

stamens 8, in 2 subequal series or epipetalous series shorter, anthers versatile, pollen shed singly;

ovary 4-locular, stigma globose to cylindrical, surface wet and non-papillate.

opening at sunrise;

floral tube 0.6–1.5 mm, closed by a conspicuous rounded, fleshy, reddish brown disc;

sepals reddish green, 3.9–8 mm;

petals ± with fine, red flecking at base, 6–14 mm; episepalous filaments 3–9 mm, epipetalous filaments 2–5 mm, anthers of longer stamens 1–2.5 mm, those of shorter stamens 0.5–1.2 mm;

style 4–10 mm, stigma globose, 0.8–2 mm diam., surrounded by anthers of longer stamens at anthesis.

a capsule, straight or slightly curved [contorted], somewhat torulose or subterete, loculicidally dehiscent, midrib of each valve prominent;

sessile.

sharply reflexed at maturity, cylindrical fresh, 4-angled dry, (45–)60–110 × 1–1.2 mm.

numerous, in 1 row per locule, narrowly obovoid, ± triangular in cross section, finely papillose.

olive brown, often flecked with purple dots, 1.3–1.6 × 0.5–0.7 mm.

= 14, 28.