Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect, green, usually divaricately branched, rarely simple, ± wiry, (2–)6–20(–25) cm, glabrous.

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.

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

ocrea 4–8 mm, glabrous, proximal part cylindric, distal part silvery, with inconspicuous veins, lacerate;

petiole absent;

blade 3-veined, lateral veins sometimes inconspicuous, without pleats, narrowly linear, 10–40 × 1–2.5 mm, margins ± revolute, smooth, apex acute or mucronate.

axillary;

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

axillary and terminal, spikelike, subglobose to cylindric;

cymes in most axils or crowded distally, 1–3-flowered.

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

enclosed in ocreae, erect, 0.1–2 mm, sometimes absent.

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.

mostly closed;

perianth 1.5–3 mm;

tube 19–40% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, uniformly white, pink, or red, petaloid, oblong-lanceolate, ± navicular, apex acute to acuminate;

midveins usually unbranched or with 2 lateral branches proximally, moderately to strongly thickened, tepals appearing ± keeled;

stamens 3–8.

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, light yellow, light brown, or greenish brown to dark brown, ovate to lanceolate, 1.3–2.5 mm, faces subequal, shiny or dull, smooth or reticulate with longitudinal ridges.