Flora of North America species comparison

erect to scandent, rarely procumbent, glabrous or pubescent.

ocrea persistent or deciduous, tan or greenish brown, cylindric, 2–4 mm, margins oblique, face not fringed with reflexed hairs and slender bristles at base, otherwise glabrous or scabrid;

petiole 0.5–5 cm, puberulent in lines;

blade cordate-ovate, cordate-hastate, or sagittate, 2–6(–15) × 2–5(–10) cm, base cordate, margins wavy, scabrid, apex acuminate, abaxial face usually mealy and, rarely, minutely dotted, not glaucous, adaxial face glabrous.

deciduous, cauline, alternate, petiolate;

ocrea persistent or deciduous, chartaceous;

petiole base articulated, extrafloral nectaries sometimes present;

blade broadly ovate to triangular, margins entire or wavy.

axillary, erect or spreading, spikelike, 2–10(–15) cm, axes puberulent;

peduncle 0.1–10 cm or absent, glabrous or scabrid distally in lines.

terminal and spikelike, or terminal and axillary and paniclelike or racemelike, pedunculate or not.

ascending or spreading, articulated distally, 1–3 mm, glabrous or, rarely, scabrid.

present.

bisexual, 3–6 per ocreate fascicle;

perianth nonaccrescent, greenish white, often with pinkish or purplish base, 3–5 mm including stipelike base, glabrous or outer 3 with blunt, hyaline hairs;

tepals elliptic to obovate, apex obtuse to acute, outer 3 obscurely keeled;

stamens 8;

filaments flattened proximally, glabrous;

styles connate distally;

stigmas capitate.

bisexual, or bisexual and unisexual, some plants with bisexual flowers, other plants with only pistallate flowers 1–5 per ocreate fascicle, base stipelike;

perianth usually accrescent in fruit, pale green or white to pink, campanulate, glabrous or, rarely, with blunt, hyaline hairs;

tepals 5, connate nearly completely or only basally, petaloid, dimorphic, outer 3 winged or keeled, larger than inner 2;

stamens 6–8;

filaments distinct, free, glabrous or pubescent proximally;

anthers yellow to pink or red, ovate to elliptic;

styles 3, spreading, connate basally or nearly completely;

stigmas capitate, fimbriate, or peltate.

included, black, 4–5(–6) × 1.8–2.3 mm, dull, minutely granular-tuberculate, especially on faces; fruiting perianth glabrous or with blunt, hyaline hairs, wings absent or, rarely, flat to undulate, 0.4–0.9 mm wide at maturity, scarcely decurrent on stipelike base, margins entire.

included or exserted, brown to dark brown or black, not winged, 3-gonous, glabrous.

embryo straight.

or herbs, annual or perennial;

roots fibrous or woody;

sometimes rhizomatous.

= 10, 11.

= 40.