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 or reddish, simple or branched near base, not wiry, 1.5–5 cm, glabrous.

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, dense, not articulated to ocreae, basal leaves persistent or caducous, distal leaves gradually reduced to bracts;

ocrea 3–6 mm, glabrous, proximal part cylindric, distal part disintegrating almost to base, with whitish, straight, rigid fibers;

petiole absent;

blade 3-veined, without pleats, linear to lanceolate, 10–20 × 0.6–2.7 mm, margins revolute, smooth, apex spine-tipped.

axillary;

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

axillary;

cymes in most axils, 2–3-flowered.

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

enclosed in ocreae, erect, 0.1–1 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 2.3–2.7 mm;

tube 3–7% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, whitish with whitish or pink margins, petaloid, oblong, navicular, dimorphic, outer 2 shorter than inner 3, outer 2 0.8–1.2 mm, inner 2.3–2.7 mm, papillose at base, apex acute or acuminate;

midveins unbranched;

stamens 5–6.

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

enclosed in perianth, olive brown, narrowly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth.