Flora of North America species comparison

compact, greenish brown or sometimes red-tinged, many-branched, with ringlike scars of old leaves, 1.5–2 cm diam.

pale pinkish white, freely branching, forming large clumps, 1–2.5 cm diam., clothed with remnants of old leaves;

roots fleshy.

simple or sometimes 1–2-branched, solid, 3–9 dm.

1–2-branched, solid, 2–6 dm.

basal arching distally, blade bright green, lightly ribbed, linear-ensiform, 6–10 dm × 1.5–2.5 cm;

cauline subtending branches, blade 4.5–6 dm.

basal with blade green to grayish green, often purplish basally, centrally thickened in mature leaves, prominently veined, narrowly ensiform, 1–8 dm × 1–3 cm;

cauline 1–2, blade linear-lanceolate, seldom equaling stem.

1–2-flowered;

spathes unequal, outer green, 10–12 cm, herbaceous, inner 6–8 cm, partly scarious.

compact, units 2–4-flowered;

spathes never foliaceous, 3–6 cm, unequal, outer shorter than inner, thickly chartaceous to scarious, margins shiny, darker in color.

perianth copper colored or reddish brown (yellow in forma fulvaurea);

floral tube hollow to ovary, 2–2.5 cm;

sepals widely spreading or arching downward, obovate, with 1–3 prominent veins, 4.5–5.5 cm, glabrous, often with lighter yellow basal signal;

petals spreading or declining with sepals, 4–5 × 1.5–2 cm, base gradually attenuate, apex deeply emarginate;

ovary green, hexagonal, 1.5–1.7 cm;

style convex, not keeled, 1.8–2 cm, crests reflexed, rounded-triangular, margins shallowly toothed;

stigmas 2-lobed, lobes pointed, margins entire;

pedicel 2–4 cm.

perianth violet-blue to rarely white;

floral tube funnelform, constricted above ovary, 1–1.2 cm;

sepals ovate to reniform, 4–7.2 × 1.8–4 cm, base abruptly attenuate, signal a pubescent, greenish or greenish yellow patch surrounded by heavily veined purple on white at base of blade;

petals lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 2–5 × 0.5–2 cm, much shorter than sepals, firm, apex rarely emarginate;

ovary rounded-triangular in cross section, somewhat inflated, 0.8–2 cm;

style 3–3.5 cm, base not auriculate, margins entire or toothed, crests reflexed, 0.7–1.5 cm;

stigmas unlobed, triangular or rounded-triangular, margins entire;

pedicel 2–8 cm, frequently exceeding spathe.

remaining green even after seeds mature, oblong-elliptic, hexagonal in cross section, with 6 equally spaced ribs, short beak, 4.5–8 × 2.5 cm.

often persistent over winter, ovoid to oblong-ellipsoid, conspicuously beaked, obtusely triangular in cross section, 1.5–6 cm, tardily dehiscent.

in 2 rows per locule, irregular, flattened, 10–15 mm, corky.

dark brown, D-shaped, 5–8 mm, shiny, thin, hard, regularly pebbled, not corky.

= 42.

= 108.