Flora of North America species comparison

decumbent or ascending, branched proximally, scarcely ribbed, glabrous or scabrous distally.

erect or, sometimes, prostrate or scandent, simple or branched, glabrous or pubescent, rarely with recurved prickles.

ocrea brownish, cylindric, 3–10 mm, chartaceous, base not inflated, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles (0.3–)1–3(–5) mm, surface glabrous or strigose, not glandular-punctate;

petiole 0.1–0.2 cm, glabrous or strigose, leaves sometimes sessile;

blade without dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, linear to linear-lanceolate, (1–)2–7.5(–10) × (0.2–)0.4–1(–2.3) cm, base tapered to cuneate, margins antrorsely scabrous, apex acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or sparingly strigose, especially along midveins, not glandular-punctate.

deciduous, mostly cauline, alternate, petiolate or sessile;

ocrea persistent or disintegrating with age and deciduous entirely or distally, usually tan, brown, or reddish, chartaceous or partially to entirely foliaceous, rarely coriaceous proximally and chartaceous distally, glabrous or scabrous to variously pubescent, never 2-lobed distally;

blade lanceolate or ovate to hastate or sagittate, margins entire or, rarely, hastately lobed.

terminal and axillary, ascending to erect, usually interrupted proximally, uninterrupted distally, 10–50 × 2–4 mm;

peduncle (0–)2–25 mm, sometimes absent on axillary inflorescences and flowers thus enclosed in ocreae, glabrous;

ocreolae not overlapping proximally, usually overlapping distally, margins ciliate with bristles (0.1–)0.6–2(–2.7) mm.

terminal or terminal and axillary, spikelike, paniclelike, or capitate;

peduncle present.

ascending, 0.5–1 mm.

present or absent.

1–3(–4) per ocreate fascicle, homostylous;

perianth roseate to red, rarely white, glabrous, not glandular-punctate, scarcely accrescent;

tepals 5, connate ca. 1/3 their length, obovate to elliptic, 2.5–3 mm, veins not prominent, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded;

stamens 5(–6), included;

anthers yellow to pink, elliptic;

styles 2(–3), connate at bases.

bisexual (often functionally unisexual in P. amphibia and P. hydropiperoides), 1–14 per ocreate fascicle, base not stipelike;

perianth white, greenish white, roseate, red, or purple, campanulate or urceolate, rarely rotate, rarely becoming fleshy in fruit, glabrous, sometimes glandular-punctate, accrescent or nonaccrescent;

tepals 4–5, connate 1/4–2/3 their lengths (less than 1/5 their lengths in P. wallichii), petaloid, dimorphic, outer larger than inner;

stamens 5–8, filaments distinct or connate basally, outer ones sometimes adnate to perianth tube, glabrous;

anthers yellow, pink, or red, elliptic to ovate;

styles 2–3, erect to spreading or reflexed, distinct or connate;

stigmas capitate.

included, brownish black to black, biconvex or, rarely, 3-gonous, (1.5–)1.8–2.3(– 2.7) × (1.1–)1.3–1.5(–1.8) mm, shiny, smooth.

included or exserted, brown or dark brown to black, not winged, discoid, biconvex, 2–3-gonous, or spheroidal, glabrous.

embryo curved.

= 10, 11, 12.