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.

ascending to erect, green, 4–15 cm, trailing stems to 30 cm, glabrous, internodes of flowering stems ca. 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.

overlapping proximally, all evenly spaced, connate proximally, with tight, scarious sheath 0.5–0.7 mm;

blade arcuate, green, flat, 3-veined, needlelike to subulate, 3–6(–9) × 0.7–2 mm, ± rigid, margins scarious proximally, apex green, blunt to ± acute, dull, glabrous;

axillary leaves present among vegetative leaves.

flowers solitary, terminal;

bracts linear to subulate, herbaceous.

5–20-flowered, open cymes;

bracts narrowly lanceolate, herbaceous, thinly scarious-margined.

0.3–1.5(–2) cm, glabrous.

0.5–2.5 cm, sparsely 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 dish-shaped;

sepals (1- or) 3-veined, narrowly lanceolate (herbaceous portion narrowly lanceolate), 5–6 mm, not enlarging in fruit, apex often purple, acute to acuminate, not hooded, sparsely stipitate-glandular;

petals broadly linear to oblong-elliptic, 0.7–0.9 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, entire to slightly emarginate.

ellipsoid, 2–3 mm, equaling sepals.

ellipsoid, 4–4.8 mm, shorter than sepals.

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

purplish brown, elliptic-oblong, ± compressed, 1.8–2.2 mm, tuberculate;

tubercles low, rounded.

= 30.