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, green, simple or divaricately branched, ± wiry, 2–20 cm, minutely 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.

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

ocrea 8–13 mm, papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part overlapping and obscuring leaves and flowers, silvery, entire or shallowly dentate;

petiole absent;

blade 3-veined, without pleats, linear, 5–15(–20) × 0.5–1.5(–2) mm, margins revolute, papillose-denticulate, apex spine-tipped.

axillary;

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

axillary;

cymes in distal axils, 1-flowered.

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

absent.

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 2–3 mm;

tube 10–18% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, pink with pink or white margins, petaloid, elliptic, navicular, apex acute to acuminate;

midveins unbranched;

stamens 8.

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

enclosed in perianth at maturity, light brown to brown, ovate-elliptic, 1.8–2.3 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth.