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, 4–40 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, not articulated to ocreae, basal leaves usually caducous, distal leaves abruptly reduced to bracts;

ocrea 5–10 mm, glabrous or papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part white or tawny, disintegrating into ± bristly-fringed fibers;

petiole absent;

blade 3-veined, without pleats, linear, 5–25(–30) × 0.5–2 mm, margins revolute, papillose-denticulate or smooth, apex mucronate or weakly 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.

open or closed;

perianth 2.5–3.5 mm;

tube 10–20% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, uniformly white to pink, 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 or slightly exserted from perianth, brown, narrowly elliptic, 1.8–2.2 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth.