Flora of North America species comparison

prostrate to erect, branched, flexuous, 5–200 cm.

erect to ascending, sparingly branched in distal 1/2, not wiry, 15–75 cm.

ocrea 3–15 mm, proximal part cylindric or ± funnelform, distal part silvery, hyaline, soon disintegrating into persistent fibers or nearly completely deciduous;

petiole 0.3–9 mm;

blade green to gray-green, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, elliptic, obovate, or spatulate, 6–50(–60) × 0.5–22 mm, margins flat, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded;

stem leaves 1–4 times as long as adjacent branch leaves;

distal leaves overtopping flowers.

ocrea 7–12 mm, proximal part cylindric, distal part usually persistent, with strong veins, margins entire or lacerate, silvery, later disintegrating into ± persistent brown fibers;

petiole 1–5 mm;

blade light green or yellowish, elliptic to obovate, 30–60(–80) × (8–)10–25 mm, margins flat, apex obtuse;

stem leaves 1.5–3.5(–4) times longer than branch leaves;

distal leaves overtopping flowers in distal part of inflorescence.

axillary;

cymes uniformly distributed or aggregated at tips of stems and branches, 1–6(–8)-flowered.

axillary;

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

enclosed in or exserted from ocreae, 1.5–5 mm.

mostly exserted from ocreae, 3–7 mm.

closed or semi-open;

perianth 1.8–5.5 mm;

tube 20–57% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping or not, green or reddish brown with white, pink, or red margins, petaloid, not keeled, oblong to obovate, often cucullate in fruit;

midveins branched or unbranched, thickened or not;

stamens 5–8.

closed;

perianth 2.8–3.8(–4.2) mm;

tube 20–37% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, green with yellowish, rarely whitish green, margins, sepaloid, not keeled, oblong to obovate, cucullate;

midveins branched, moderately to heavily thickened;

stamens 7–8.

enclosed in or exserted from perianth, light to dark brown, ovate, (2–)3-gonous, 1.2–4.2 mm, faces subequal or unequal, apex not beaked, edges slightly concave, dull, usually coarsely striate-tubercled, sometimes obscurely tubercled; late-season achenes common or not, 2–5 mm.

enclosed in perianth, brown to tan, ovate, 3-gonous, 2.3–3.5 mm, faces subequal, ± concave, apex not beaked, edges concave, dull, striate-tubercled; late-season achenes uncommon, 4–5 mm.