Flora of North America species comparison

erect, usually profusely branched in distal 1/2, not wiry, 10–100(–200) cm.

erect, brown, simple, wiry, gnarled with age, 20–60 cm, glabrous.

ocrea 6–12(–15) mm, proximal part cylindric, distal part silvery, soon disintegrating into persistent brown fibers;

petiole 2–4 mm;

blade variable, light yellowish green to bluish green, proximal often caducous, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, rarely ovate, 8–70 × 4–18(–35) mm, margins flat, apex acute to acuminate or obtuse;

distal leaves, either overtopping or shorter than or equaling flowers.

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

ocrea 6–10 mm, glabrous or papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part silvery, deeply fringed, disintegrating;

petiole absent;

blade 3-veined, without pleats, linear to subulate, 3–15(–25) × 0.4–1.5 mm, margins flat, smooth, apex acuminate to spine-tipped.

axillary or axillary and terminal, spikelike;

cymes uniformly distributed or crowded toward tips of branches, 2–5-flowered.

axillary;

cymes in distal axils, 1–2-flowered.

enclosed in or exserted from ocreae, 1–6 mm.

absent.

closed;

perianth (2–)2.2–3.6(–4) mm;

tube 20–38% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, greenish yellow with greenish yellow or yellow, rarely pink or white, margins, petaloid or sepaloid, not keeled, elliptic to oblong, cucullate;

midveins thickened or not;

stamens 3–6(–8).

semi-open;

perianth 2.6–3.2 mm;

tube 18–33% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, ± recurved, uniformly white to pink, petaloid, elliptic-oblong to obovate, navicular, apex rounded;

midveins unbranched;

stamens 8.

enclosed in or exserted from perianth, dark brown, ovate, 3-gonous, 1.6–3.5 mm, faces subequal, concave, apex not beaked, edges straight, shiny or dull, usually smooth to roughened, sometimes uniformly or obscurely tubercled; late-season achenes common, 4–15 mm.

enclosed in perianth, light brown, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 2.5–3 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth.