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.

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

roots fleshy.

simple or 1–2-branched, 3–8 dm.

1–2-branched, solid, 2–6 dm.

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

cauline 1–4, erect.

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.

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

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

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 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 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.

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

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

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

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

= 42.

= 108.