Flora of North America species comparison

erect when young, decumbent or prostrate later, moderately branched especially from base, not wiry, 50–70 cm.

erect, green, divaricately branched, not wiry, 5–50 cm, usually papillose-scabrid-ulous, rarely glabrescent.

ocreae 5–12 mm, proximal part cylindric, distal part soon disintegrating into brown fibers;

petiole 0.3–1.5 mm;

blade light yellowish green, elliptic to obovate, 8–35 × 3–15 mm, margins flat, apex rounded;

stem leaves 1–2.1(–3) times longer than branch leaves;

distal leaves overtopping flowers.

uniformly distributed, articulated to ocreae, basal leaves usually caducous, distal leaves abruptly reduced to bracts, articulated to ocreae;

ocrea 8–12 mm, papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part disintegrating into a few persistent fibers;

petiole 0.1–2 mm;

blade 1-veined, not pleated, linear to lanceolate, 35–60 × 1–3 mm, margins flat or narrowly revolute, smooth or papillose-denticulate, apex acute, mucronate.

axillary, cymes in axils of most leaves and toward tips of stems and branchs, 1–3(–5)-flowered.

axillary and terminal, spikelike, dense;

cymes crowded, ± overlapping at branch tips, 2–5-flowered.

enclosed in ocreae, 1.3–1.8(–2) mm.

enclosed in or slightly exserted from ocreae, erect to spreading, 0.5–2 mm.

closed;

perianth 2.6–4 mm;

tube 40–55% of perianth length;

tepals incurved, yellow-green with yellow to green, rarely pinkish, margins, sepaloid, ± keeled, narrowly oblong, cucullate;

midveins unbranched, moderately to heavily thickened, tepals appearing keeled;

stamens 5–8.

open or semi-open;

perianth 3–5 mm;

tube 9–17% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, uniformly pink or white, petaloid, oblong-obovate, cucullate, navicular in distal 1/4, apex rounded;

midveins branched;

stamens 8.

enclosed in perianth, yellow-green to tan, ovate, 3-gonous, 2.4–3.5 mm, faces unequal, apex not beaked, edges concave or nearly straight, dull, uniformly tubercled; late-season achenes common, 3–5 mm.

enclosed in perianth, black, narrowly elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 3–5 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth to striate-tubercled.

= 40, 60.