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 brown-ish, simple or branched from below middle, not wiry, 5–50 cm, glabrous or 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 caducous or persistent, distal leaves abruptly reduced to bracts;

ocrea 6–15 mm, glabrous or papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part soon disintegrating into a few brown fibers;

petiole 0.1–1 mm;

blade 1-veined, with 1 pleat on each side of midrib, narrowly lanceolate to linear, 25–40 × 1–8 mm, margins usually flat, papillose-denticulate, apex mucronate or cuspidate.

axillary;

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

axillary and terminal, spikelike, slender, elongate;

cymes spaced along branches, 1–2(–3)-flowered.

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

enclosed in ocreae, erect, 1–1.5 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 2.5–4.2 mm;

tube 15–22% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, green, often brownish when dried, with pink or white margins, petaloid or sepaloid, elliptic, cucullate, navicular, apex rounded;

midveins usually unbranched, rarely branched;

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, black, elliptic to oblong, 2.3–4 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth or minutely striate-tubercled near edges and apex.

= 20.