Flora of North America species comparison

erect to ascending, green, older stems brown, branched, glabrous or sparsely strigose (especially at nodes);

bark deciduous, exfoliating or flaking, reddish;

branches erect to arching;

axillary buds hidden in pouches, sometimes apex exposed, especially on vigorous sprout-shoots.

light reddish brown, weathering gray and striate, stiffly divaricately to loosely branched, moderately strigose and appressed villous-sericeous;

internodes (0.5–)1.3–3(–4.5) cm; short-shoot spurs sometimes present;

axillary buds exposed .

petiole 1–6 mm;

blade usually broadly lanceolate to broadly ovate, or narrowly to broadly elliptic, rarely narrowly lanceolate in horticultural forms, 3–10 × 2–6 cm, larger blades usually greater than 6 × 2.5 cm, base narrowly cuneate to rounded, margins entire to irregularly or regularly serrate, crenate, or dentate, plane, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely strigose, hairs usually appressed-ascending, not twisted, main vein axils often moderately to densely strigose-tomentose, main veins sometimes sparsely strigose, secondary and tertiary veins rarely sparsely strigose, adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely strigose, especially near base and margins.

petiole (1–)2–4(–5.5) mm;

blade gray-white abaxially, green adaxially, lance-ovate or oblong-ovate to broadly ovate, (0.5–)1.2–2.5(–3) × (0.2–)0.4–0.8(–1.4) cm, herbaceous to subcoriaceous, margins entire, plane, often drying revolute, abaxial surface sparsely to moderately sericeous-strigose, hairs ± appressed, coarse to slender, 0.6–1.1 mm, with dense understory of white, slender, curled-crisped hairs, adaxial surface sparsely to moderately sericeous-strigose, hairs scattered, appressed, coarse, 0.5–1.2 mm, (these (4–)5–9 per mm of width in populations that have been called var. intermedius), also hirsute, hairs slender, usually erect, rarely appressed, 0.1–0.3(–0.4) mm.

cymose racemes, 5–7(–9)-flowered, proximal 2 flowers often in axils of nearly normal to much reduced (bracteal) leaves.

flowers solitary, produced from previous year's long shoots.

3–20 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose.

1–2 mm, strigose-sericeous to villous.

hypanthium glabrous or sparsely strigose to villous;

sepals ovate, ovate-lanceolate, or triangular, 4–8 × 2.5–5 mm, apex acute to acuminate, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely strigose, adaxial surface glabrous except densely villosulous distally;

petals white to cream, oblong, obovate, or orbiculate, 5–25 × 5–22 mm;

stamens 20–50;

filaments distinct, 4–9 mm;

anthers 1–1.5 × 0.7–1 mm;

styles 4, connate proximally, cylindric, 7–10 mm, lobes 3–8 × 0.3–0.9 mm;

stigmatic surfaces 1–4 mm.

hypanthium strigose-sericeous or villous;

sepals ovate, 3–5.5 × 2–3.2 mm, apex obtuse, acuminate to ± caudate, abaxial surface strigose-sericeous or villous, adaxial surface sparsely sericeous but villous along margins;

petals white, oblong-ovate to ovate, 4–9(–11) × 3–6 mm;

stamens 14–22;

filaments sometimes proximally connivent, (1.5–)2–4.5 mm;

style 1, clavate, 2.4–3.2 mm, slender base 0.5–0.7 mm;

stigmatic portion 1.3–1.7 × 0.9–1.1 mm, apex slightly lobed.

obconic to obovoid, 7–11 × 4–7 mm.

turbinate-globose, 4–5.2 × 4–5 mm, sepals persistent on distal 1/3, capsule distal surface usually impressed in 4(–8) vertical lines.

caudate, 3 mm.

not caudate, to 1.1 mm.

= 26.