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.

compact, freely branching, forming dense clumps, 0.9–1.2 cm diam., covered with remnants of old leaves.

simple or 1–2-branched, 3–8 dm.

simple or 1–3-branched, hollow, 6–12 dm.

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

cauline 1–4, erect.

dying back in winter, blade dark green, often tinged pink at base, 4–8 dm × 0.4–0.6 cm.

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

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

3–5-flowered, lateral units 2–3-flowered;

spathes brown, to 4 cm, narrow, papery, apex acute.

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 light to dark blue-violet to white;

floral tube with indistinct ribs, circular, ca. 1 cm;

sepals flaring or curving downward apically, widely orbiculate, 5–7 × 2–2.5 cm, base abruptly attenuate into claw with two narrow flanges basally, signal white, semicircular, with dark violet veins basally;

petals erect, narrowly elliptic-obovate, 4.5–5.5 × 1.5–1.8 cm;

ovary roundly triangular, spindle-shaped, 1.5–2 cm;

style pale blue, bluntly keeled, 4–5 cm, crests overlapping, triangular, margins crenate;

stigmas tonguelike projections, triangular;

pedicel 1–15 cm, unequal, later flowers in each spathe with longer pedicel.

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

roundly triangular with low ridges at angles, 3–4.5 × 1–1.3 cm, smooth, apex with extremely short tip, opening only in upper 1/4–1/3 of capsule.

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

in 2 rows per locule, dark brown, D-shaped, flattened, 5 × 3 mm, slightly roughened by small, rounded protuberances.

= 42.

= 28.