Flora of North America species comparison

prostrate to erect, branched, 5–70 cm, mostly retrorsely to spreading-pubescent on 1 side or throughout.

erect to ascending, much-branched, 15–33 cm, glabrous to minutely puberulent.

stipules lanceolate, 2–6 mm, apex acuminate, entire;

blade oblong to elliptic or oblanceolate, 3–25 × 1–6 mm, herbaceous, apex acute and briefly cuspidate, glabrous.

stipules lanceolate to ovate, 2.5–5 mm, apex acuminate to long-acuminate, entire;

blade linear to filiform, 8–15 × 0.4–0.8 mm, leathery, apex acute to submucronate, glabrous.

5-merous, ± short-cylindric, with enlarged hypanthium and calyx cylindric, 1–1.7 mm, glabrous to pubescent with short hairs, often minutely ciliate, sometimes glaucous;

sepals greenish or greenish white to brownish, veins absent, ovate to oblong, 0.8–1.3 mm, herbaceous, margins white, 0.05–0.1 mm wide, scarious to papery, apex terminated by minute cusp, hood narrowly rounded, cusp light green to whitish, straight, short-conic, 0.1–0.15 mm, minutely scabrous;

staminodes subulate, 0.2–0.3 mm;

style 1, cleft in distal 4/5+, 0.2–0.4 mm.

5-merous, short-campanulate, with enlarged hypanthium and calyx slightly constricted proximally, 1.6–2 mm, appressed-puberulent proximally;

sepals red-brown, midrib and lateral pair of veins absent to evident, oblong, 0.8–1.1 mm, leathery to rigid, margins whitish to translucent, 0.05–0.1 mm wide, scarious, apex terminated by awn, hood present, broadly rounded, awn divergently spreading, 0.4–0.6 mm, ± broadly conic in proximal 1/2 with pale-yellow, scabrous spine;

staminodes filiform, 0.5–0.7 mm;

style 1, cleft in distal 1/6, 0.6–0.7 mm.

terminal, 20–40+-flowered, diffuse, lax, repeatedly forked or dichotomous.

terminal and axillary, 5–20+-flowered, dichotomous, repeatedly branching and diffusely spreading, open, clusters 0.5–1.5 mm wide.

ellipsoid, 1–1.3 mm, papillate distally.

ovoid-globose, 0.8–0.9 mm, smooth, glabrous.