Flora of North America species comparison

erect, green, simple or branched, not wiry, 5–80 cm, glabrous or sparsely papillose-scabridulous.

prostrate or ascending, brown, branched, rooting at nodes, not wiry, 10–100 cm, glabrous, covered with remains of lacerate, hyaline ocreae.

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

ocrea 6–12 mm, glabrous or minutely papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part hyaline, lacerate;

petiole 0.1–2 mm;

blade 1-veined, not pleated, linear, narrow-oblong, or oblanceolate, 15–55 × 2–8(–12) mm, margins revolute, smooth or papillose-denticulate;

apex acute to mucronate.

crowded at branch tips, articulated to ocreae, basal leaves caducous or persistent, distal leaves not reduced in size;

ocrea 15–20 mm, glabrous, proximal part cylindric to funnelform, distal part silvery, entire or slightly lacerate, disintegrating into persistent white-gray curly fibers;

petiole 0–0.5 mm;

blade 1-veined, without pleats, linear to oblanceolate, (5–)10–20(–33) × 3–8 mm, coriaceous, margins revolute, smooth, apex acute or mucronate.

axillary and terminal, spikelike, elongate;

cymes widely spaced along branches, 2–4-flowered.

axillary;

cymes crowded in distal axils, 2–5-flowered.

mostly exserted from ocreae, reflexed, 2–6 mm.

enclosed in ocreae, erect to spreading, 2–5 mm.

closed;

perianth 3–4.5 mm;

tube 20–28% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, green to tannish with white or pink margins, petaloid, oblong, cucullate, navicular, apex rounded;

midveins usually branched, rarely unbranched;

stamens 8.

semi-open or open;

perianth (4.5–)6–10 mm;

tube 22–48% of perianth length;

tepals partially overlapping, uniformly pink or white, reddish brown when dried, petaloid, oblong-ovate to ± lanceolate, apex rounded;

midveins pinnately branched;

stamens 8.

enclosed in perianth, black, elliptic or oblong to ovate, 3–4(–4.5) mm, faces subequal, shiny or dull, smooth or minutely striate-tubercled.

enclosed in or slightly exserted from perianth, black, ovate, 4–5 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth.