Flora of North America species comparison

erect, green, usually divaricately branched, rarely simple, ± wiry, (2–)6–20(–25) cm, glabrous.

erect or ascending, rarely prostrate, straight or zigzagged, 4-gonous, ribs obscure or absent, smooth or papillose-scabridulous.

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

ocrea 4–8 mm, glabrous, proximal part cylindric, distal part silvery, with inconspicuous veins, lacerate;

petiole absent;

blade 3-veined, lateral veins sometimes inconspicuous, without pleats, narrowly linear, 10–40 × 1–2.5 mm, margins ± revolute, smooth, apex acute or mucronate.

ocrea 4–8-veined, proximal part not pruinose;

petiole (or blade when petiole absent) articulated or not to ocrea;

blade narrowly linear to subround, rarely coriaceous (P. paronychia, P. shastense, and P. utahense), margins smooth or papillose-denticulate, not rugulose, rarely glaucous adaxially (P. nuttallii); 1-veined or venation parallel (3-veined), secondary veins not conspicuous.

axillary and terminal, spikelike, subglobose to cylindric;

cymes in most axils or crowded distally, 1–3-flowered.

usually axillary and terminal, sometimes entirely axillary;

cymes 1–6-flowered.

enclosed in ocreae, erect, 0.1–2 mm, sometimes absent.

erect to spreading or reflexed, 0.1–6 mm, sometimes absent.

mostly closed;

perianth 1.5–3 mm;

tube 19–40% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, uniformly white, pink, or red, petaloid, oblong-lanceolate, ± navicular, apex acute to acuminate;

midveins usually unbranched or with 2 lateral branches proximally, moderately to strongly thickened, tepals appearing ± keeled;

stamens 3–8.

open, semi-open, or closed;

tepals ± monomorphic, outer tepals equaling or somewhat larger than inner, (dimorphic, with outer tepals shorter than inner in P. heterosepalum), apices of outer tepals rounded or acute to acuminate;

anthers pink to purple (orange-pink in P. hickmanii).

enclosed in perianth, light yellow, light brown, or greenish brown to dark brown, ovate to lanceolate, 1.3–2.5 mm, faces subequal, shiny or dull, smooth or reticulate with longitudinal ridges.

ovate to elliptic or lanceolate, 3-gonous, shiny or dull, smooth, tubercled, or longitudinally reticulate.