Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect or decumbent, branched mostly from base, not wiry, 15–100 cm.

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.

ocrea 4–8 mm, proximal part cylindric, distal part soon disintegrating into curly or straight fibers;

petiole 0–1.5 mm;

blade bluish green, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 15–50 × 2–8 mm, margins flat, apex acute;

stem leaves 2.1–4 times as long as branch leaves;

distal leaves abruptly reduced and not overtopping flowers (shorter than or equaling flowers).

axillary;

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

axillary and terminal, spikelike;

cymes aggregated at tips of stems and branches, 4–6-flowered, bracts inconspicuous.

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

enclosed in ocreae, 1–2 mm.

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.

closed;

perianth 1.8–2.4 mm;

tube 10–22% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, green or white, usually with pink, rarely red or white, margins, petaloid, not keeled, oblong to obovate, cucullate;

midveins usually unbranched;

stamens 7–8.

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

enclosed in perianth, brown, ovate, 3-gonous, 1.3–2.3 mm, faces subequal, slightly concave, apex not beaked, with concave edges, shiny, smooth; late-season achenes unknown.