Flora of North America species comparison

greenish, freely branching, forming large, open clumps, 2–2.5 cm diam., fleshy, with fibrous bases of old leaves not covering rhizome but persisting on ringlike scars.

producing fleshy roots, and 2–8 cordlike branches at apex, cordlike portion 2–3 dm × 1–2 mm, gradually enlarging to 8–12 mm diam., nodes with brown, scalelike leaves and rarely roots.

1-branched, solid, 3–10 dm.

simple, 2.5–4.5 cm.

basal usually dying back shortly after anthesis, blade bright green, 6–10 dm × 0.8–2 cm, sometimes glaucescent;

cauline with blade elongate, linear-attenuate, 15–20 cm, exceeding flowers.

basal 6–8, proximal 2–3 sheathing, blade light brown with darker brown line along midrib at base, falcate, scarious, distal 4–5 not sheathing, blade green or yellowish green, with few, subprominent veins, broadly ensiform, slightly falcate, to 1.5 dm × 1–2.5 cm, enlarging to 4 dm after anthesis;

cauline 2–3, sheathing, proximal very similar to basal leaves, distal 1 or 2 reduced, herbaceous, blade falcate, not inflated.

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

spathes lanceolate, subequal or unequal, apex acute;

outer 8–10 cm, herbaceous, margins scarious;

inner 6–9 cm, completely scarious.

1–2-flowered;

spathes green, sharply keeled, somewhat inflated, 2–6 cm, unequal, outer shorter than inner.

perianth blue to blue-violet (white in forma albispiritis);

floral tube funnelform, 1.2–1.5 cm;

sepals blue or pale violet with flecks of white and lines of deeper blue on either side of ridge, spatulate, elliptic to ovate, 7–8 cm, apex acuminate, ridge yellow, linear, extending to about middle of limb, finely pubescent, claw light green, striated, ribbed, 1–1.2 cm;

petals erect or spreading-erect, deep blue, linear to narrowly linear-spatulate, 6–7.5 cm, base abruptly attenuate into claw, claw channeled, green with darker lines, margins pale;

ovary bluntly 3-angled, ridged at each angle and on faces between angles;

style linear-acute, 5–6 cm;

crests ovate, 1–2 cm, margins sharply and irregularly toothed;

stigmas broadly 2-lobed, margins crenate;

pedicel 1.6–2 cm.

perianth blue, lilac-purple, or white;

floral tube filiform, widening distally, 4–8 cm, lifting expanded portion of flower out of spathes;

sepals spreading, with 3 parallel, toothed, crested ridges on white signal bordered with purple, tapering gradually into claw, 3–6 × 1.5–2.5 cm, base gradually attenuate, apex rounded, emarginate;

petals spreading, same color as sepals, oblanceolate, 3–4 × 1–2 cm;

ovary triangular, with shallow groove along each face, 0.6–1 cm;

style 1.5 cm, crests narrowly triangular, 6–9 mm;

stigmas oblong, margins entire;

pedicel 0.7–1.8 cm.

ellipsoid, round in cross section, roundly 6-lobed, with 6 sharp, winglike, equally spaced ridges converging to form stout beak at apex, 6–10 cm, dehiscence loculicidal.

usually enclosed in spathes, oval, sharply triangular, each angle ridged, 1–1.5 cm.

in 1 row per locule, brown, circular or uneven, flattened, 8–12 mm diam, very corky.

yellowish brown, 3.2–3.5 mm, smooth, with narrow, white appendage wrapped around seed, 3.4–4 mm, quickly drying upon exposure to air.

= 44.

= 24, 32.