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.

ascending to erect, green to purplish, much-branched from base, not wiry, 5–10(–20) cm, papillose-scabridulous.

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.

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

ocrea 3–5 mm, papillose-scabridulous or glabrous, proximal part funnelform, distal part lacerate;

petiole 0.1–2 mm;

blade 1-veined, not pleated, ovate to elliptic or obovate, 5–15 × 4–7 mm, margins flat or narrowly revolute, papillose-denticulate, apex acute or mucronate.

axillary;

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

axillary and terminal, spikelike, slender;

cymes spaced along branches, 1–4-flowered.

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

exserted from ocreae, reflexed, 1–2.5 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–)2–2.6 mm;

tube 20–28% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, green or purple, with narrow whitish margins, petaloid or sepaloid, oblong, cucullate, navicular, apex rounded;

midveins unbranched;

stamens 8.

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

enclosed in perianth, black, elliptic to obovate, 2–2.5 mm, faces subequal, shiny, ± smooth.