Flora of North America species comparison

heterogeneous, whitish, cordlike portions 0.1–1.5 dm × 2–4 mm, enlarging to 6–8 mm diam., densely covered with brown, scalelike leaves, roots absent, or torulose with roots borne along entire rhizome.

freely branching, producing dense clumps, 1–1.5 cm diam.

simple, 5–15 cm.

absent or not more than 1 cm.

basal with blade light green, ensiform, 0.3–1.5 dm × 0.3–1.3 cm, enlarging to 3.5 dm, glaucous;

cauline 5–9, sheathing, imbricate, blade light green, obovate, 1.3–5 cm, increasing in length, proximal shortest, membranous, apex acute.

ascending-spreading;

blade grayish green, ensiform or slightly falcate, 8–10 cm × 6–15 mm at anthesis, increasing to 15–20 cm in length on innovations after flowering, dying back in autumn, new growth only in spring, glaucous.

1–2-flowered;

spathes divergent, exposing floral tube, green, lanceolate, 2–2.5 cm, apex acuminate.

1-flowered, sessile in spathes;

spathes 5–10 cm;

outer darker green than inner, inner closely shielding floral tube.

floral tube pale violet, filiform, 2.5–6.5 cm, expanding somewhat distally to 2.5–4 cm diam.;

sepals widely spreading, blue to violet with yellow or orange longitudinal papillose band at base of blade, obovate, 2–6 × 0.8–2 cm, base gradually attenuate into claw, not crested;

petals erect, arching inward at tip, spatulate, 2–7 × 1–2 cm, base abruptly attenuate into claw;

ovary linear, to 1.3 cm;

styles pale violet, 2.5–4 cm, crests linear-acute, narrow, 0.7 cm;

stigmas rounded, margins entire;

pedicel 1–3 cm, increasing to 25 cm as capsule matures.

floral tube with 3 purple stripes in line with midrib of petals, slender, 6–10 cm × 2–3 mm, lifting expanded portion of flower out of spathes;

sepals yellow, blue, or purple, with yellowish or bluish beard, often with contrasting spot around beard at base of limb, 4–5 × 1.2–2 cm;

petals with darker veins near base, rounded-ovate, broader than sepals, 4–5 × 2.2–2.7 cm, narrowing abruptly to brown-veined claw, apex emarginate;

ovary rounded-trigonal, ca. 1 cm × 4–5 mm;

style crests triangular, margins serrate distally;

stigmas rounded on distal margin, margins entire;

pedicel absent.

3-angled with single ridge at each angle, almost hidden in bases of spathes, 1–3.2 × 0.8–1.5 cm, tapering into beak consisting of dried remnant of floral tube.

borne on tips of rhizomes at ground level or slightly below, rounded-trigonal, with short portion of dried floral tube forming tip, smooth, 2–3.5 × 1.5–2 cm, dehiscing while green.

dark brown, ribbed, 2.8–3.2 mm, lustrous, with small, fleshy aril basally.

usually in 2 rows per locule, light brown, subspherical, 3–5 mm diam., wrinkled.

= 30, 31, 32, 36.