Flora of North America species comparison

moderately stout, not woody.

stout, woody.

spreading to erect, cespitose, green, 3–15 cm, glabrous, internodes of all stems 0.2–0.6 times as long as leaves.

suberect to ascending, green, 2–10-cm, retrorsely pubescent in lines, internodes of flowering stems 2–7 times as long as leaves.

tightly overlapping, usually connate proximally, with ± loose, scarious to herbaceous sheath 0.2–0.8 mm;

blade straight to outwardly curved, green, flat, prominently 1-veined abaxially, linear to subulate, 3–10 × 0.1–1 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, smooth, apex green or purple, rounded, navicular, shiny, glabrous;

axillary leaves present among cauline leaves.

tightly overlapping or not (vegetative and proximal cauline) or variably spaced (distal cauline), usually connate proximally, with tight, scarious to herbaceous sheath 0.5–1 mm;

blade straight to outwardly curved, green, flat, obscurely 1-veined abaxially, oblong or spatulate to elliptic, 5–10 × 0.7–2 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, rarely ciliate proximally, apex green or purple, rounded, flat to navicular, shiny, glabrous;

axillary leaves mostly absent.

flowers solitary, terminal;

bracts linear to subulate, herbaceous.

3–5-flowered, open cymes;

bracts lanceolate, herbaceous.

0.3–1.5(–2) cm, glabrous.

0.5–1 cm, usually densely stipitate-glandular.

hypanthium disc-shaped, sepals prominently 3-veined, linear to lanceolate (herbaceous portion linear to lanceolate), 2–3 mm, enlarging slightly in fruit, apex usually purple, acute or rounded, not hooded, glabrous;

petals usually absent, if present, rudimentary, linear to oblong, shorter than sepals, apex entire.

hypanthium cup-shaped;

sepals 3-veined prominently in fruit, oblong to narrowly lanceolate (herbaceous portion often purple, oblong to narrowly oblanceolate), 3.5–4.5 mm, not enlarging in fruit, apex rarely purple, rounded, hooded (at least inner sepals) or not, glabrous to stipitate-glandular proximally;

petals white or often lilac, broadly oblanceolate, 1.4–1.7 times as long as sepals, apex truncate, often shallowly notched.

ellipsoid, 2–3 mm, equaling sepals.

broadly ellipsoid, 5.5 mm, longer than sepals.

0.6–1 mm, brown, suborbiculate with radicle prolonged into beak, somewhat compressed, minutely tuberculate (50x).

brown, suborbiculate with radicle prolonged into beak, slightly compressed, 0.7–0.8 mm, smooth or obscurely scupltured (50x).

= 30.

= 26.