Flora of North America species comparison

prostrate to erect, often zigzagged, reddish brown, simple or branched from base, wiry, 2–30 cm, papillose-scabrid-ulous.

erect, brown, simple, wiry, gnarled with age, 20–60 cm, glabrous.

evenly distributed or crowded at branch tips, articulated to ocreae, basal leaves persistent, hardly reduced distally;

ocrea 1–4 mm, papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part entire or dentate-lacerate;

petiole 0.1–3 mm;

blade 1-veined, not pleated, narrowly elliptic, elliptic, ovate, obovate, or subround, 6–27 × 3–8 mm, margins flat, smooth, irregularly thickened or papillose-denticulate, apex apiculate, green adaxially.

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

ocrea 6–10 mm, glabrous or papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part silvery, deeply fringed, disintegrating;

petiole absent;

blade 3-veined, without pleats, linear to subulate, 3–15(–25) × 0.4–1.5 mm, margins flat, smooth, apex acuminate to spine-tipped.

axillary;

cymes from near stem and branch bases, sometimes also crowded at branch apices, 1–3-flowered.

axillary;

cymes in distal axils, 1–2-flowered.

enclosed in ocreae, erect to spreading, 2–3 mm.

absent.

semi-open or closed;

perianth 1.8–2.5 mm;

tube 22–29% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, greenish with narrow white or pink margins, almost sepaloid, oblong, cucullate, ± navicular, apex rounded;

midveins thickened, unbranched;

stamens 8.

semi-open;

perianth 2.6–3.2 mm;

tube 18–33% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, ± recurved, uniformly white to pink, petaloid, elliptic-oblong to obovate, navicular, apex rounded;

midveins unbranched;

stamens 8.

enclosed in perianth or tip exserted, black, elliptic to ovate, 1.8–2.3 mm, faces subequal, smooth, shiny.

enclosed in perianth, light brown, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 2.5–3 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth.