Flora of North America species comparison

green, extensively branched, forming large clumps, 2–4 cm diam., with pale leaf scars.

freely branching, producing dense clumps, slender, 0.5–0.7 cm diam., covered with bases of old leaves;

roots fibrous.

2–3-branched, solid, 10–15(–20+) dm.

simple, solid, 2–3 dm.

basal 4–6, erect, blade bright green, ensiform, 10–13 dm × 2–3 cm, apex slightly curved;

cauline with blade foliaceous, appearing as elongated spathe, 5–6.5 dm × 2–3 cm, not exceeding flowers.

basal with blade sometimes pink to red basally, finely ribbed, linear, 3–3.5 dm × 0.5 cm, subglaucous, margins not thickened, apex acute;

cauline 1–3, imbricated, mostly free, bractlike, blade linear-lanceolate, inflated.

2–3-flowered, branch units 1–2-flowered;

spathes tightly enclosing ovary and pedicel, 15–20 cm, subequal;

outer narrowly lanceolate, keeled, margins pale, narrow, inner margins translucent, broad, scarious.

(1–)2-flowered;

spathes often flushed with pink or red, lanceolate, 4–8 cm × 5–10 mm, subequal or unequal and inner somewhat longer than outer, rigid, apex acuminate.

perianth blue or blue-purple;

floral tube tubular-prismatic, 9-ribbed and -grooved, 4–5 cm;

sepals blue or blue-purple with white streaks surrounding signal, oval to orbicular-oval, 9.5–11 × 4–5 cm, base abruptly attenuate into claw, apex obtusely angled, signal with raised, yellow, pubescent central ridge, claw green, striate, 4–4.5 × 1–1.2 cm;

petals erect or spreading-erect, spatulate, 7–8.5 × 2–3 cm, base cuneate, apex emarginate;

ovary bluntly 6-angled, 4–4.5 cm;

style blue-violet, keeled, 3.5–4 cm, raised above sepals, crests recurved, 1.5–2 cm, margins sharply and irregularly serrate;

stigmas 2-lobed with 2 triangular teeth;

pedicel columnar, 3.5–5 cm.

perianth pale cream with distinct veins of lavender, reddish brown, or brown, margins often distinctly crisped;

floral tube funnelform, 3–5.8 cm, slender, then expanding abruptly to base of flower;

sepals spreading outward from base and remaining in horizontal position for entire length, narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, 4–6.5 × 1.1–1.8 cm, base attenuate into long claw;

petals somewhat spreading, not strictly erect, 4.5–6.5 × 0.6–1.4 cm, base gradually attenuate;

ovary 1–2 cm, gradually tapering to each end;

style 2–3 cm, crests linear, undulate near tip, 1–2.5 cm;

stigmas triangular;

pedicel 0.8–1.8 cm at anthesis.

drooping, bright green, ellipsoid, hexagonal in cross section, with 6 broad, rounded lobes, 8–10 × 3 cm, indehiscent;

after anthesis, flower stem elongates, arching downward to push capsule into water, where walls are broken down and as funiculus is broken, seed rises to surface.

oblong, round in cross section, 3–4 cm, base abruptly attenuate into pedicel, apex gradually acuminate into distinct beak apically.

in 2 rows per locule, brown, D-shaped, 8–10 mm wide, very corky.

grayish brown, pyriform to oval, 3 mm, wrinkled.

= 44.

= 40.