Flora of North America species comparison

superficial or only slightly buried in peaty soil, cordlike portions usually 1-branched, 40 cm × 2–5 mm, bearing scalelike leaves at nodes;

nodal roots absent.

freely branching, forming large clumps, slender, 1–1.2 cm diam., covered with remains of old leaves;

roots fibrous.

simple or 1–2-branched, 3–8 dm.

simple, solid, 6–7 dm.

basal with blade slightly ribbed, 3–6 dm × 0.2–0.5 cm;

cauline 1–4, erect.

basal persistent, blade gray-green, green and without pink coloration basally, 6–7 dm × 1.5–2 cm, glaucous, margins not thickened;

cauline 1–2, free from stem for ca. 1/2 length, foliaceous, spreading, blade not inflated.

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

spathes pale brown, narrowly lanceolate, 2–4 cm, scarious or partially membranaceous.

3(–4)-flowered;

spathes widely separated, sometimes by 9 cm, divergent, unequal, outer 6.5–15 cm × 8–14 mm, inner much shorter.

perianth pale blue or blue-violet;

floral tube 0.2–0.3 cm;

sepals pale violet, veined deep violet basally, ovate, 4–5 × 1.3–2 cm, base abruptly attenuate;

petals lavender, oblanceolate, 3.5–4.5 × 0.7–1.5 cm;

ovary trigonal, sharply angled;

style arched, narrow, 2–3 cm, crests divergent, quadrate, 0.5–0.7 cm, margins serrate;

stigmas sharply triangular;

pedicel somewhat flattened, 3–7 cm, exserted from spathe.

perianth pale powder blue to lavender or violet, often frilled and veined in violet or darker blue;

floral tube funnelform, 0.7–1 cm;

sepals oblong-ovate to broadly oblanceolate, 6.2–9 × 1.8–3.7 cm, base gradually attenuate, apex emarginate;

petals oblong to spatulate, 5–9.5 × 1.2–2.1 cm, base attenuate, apex apiculate;

ovary rounded in cross section, 1.4–3 cm, base gradually attenuate into pedicel, apex abruptly acuminate into floral tube;

style 3 cm, crests reflexed, subquadrate, shallowly lobed, 1.1–2 cm, margins entire or obscurely and shallowly lobed;

stigmas triangular, margins entire;

pedicels of varying lengths, 0.8–4.8 cm on first flower, those of later flowers longer.

sharply 3-angled, almost winged, 3–4 × 1.2–1.4 cm, concave faces 6–14 mm wide.

oblong, rounded in cross section, tapering abruptly at either end, to 5 cm.

in 1 row per locule, buff to dark brown, pyriform, with convex sides, 3–4 mm, smooth.

brown, D-shaped or irregular, coarsely wrinkled.

= 42.

= 40.