Flora of North America species comparison

erect, green to brownish, simple or branched from base, not wiry, 4–50 cm, glabrous or papillose-scabrid-ulous.

prostrate to ascending, sometimes zigzagged, branched from base, not wiry, 5–50 cm.

uniformly distributed, articulated to ocreae, basal leaves persistent or caducous, distal leaves abruptly or gradually reduced to bracts;

ocrea 4–10 mm, glabrous or papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part lacerate or disintegrating into a few persistent fibers;

petiole 0.1–2 mm;

blade 1-veined, not pleated, linear or narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, 8–45 × 2–8(–12) mm, margins revolute or flat, smooth or papillose-denticulate, apex acute, mucronate, rarely obtuse.

ocrea 2.5–12 mm, proximal part funnelform, distal part soon disintegrating, nearly completely deciduous or fibers persistent;

petiole 2–7 mm;

blade light green, sometimes purple tinged, elliptic to elliptic-obovate or obovate, 8–30(–50) × 4–15(–25) mm, margins flat, apex acute to obtuse;

middle stem leaves 1.1–2.1(–3.4) times as long as adjacent branch leaves, distal leaves overtopping flowers.

axillary or axillary and terminal, spikelike, elongate;

cymes widely spaced along branches, 2–4-flowered.

axillary;

cymes uniformly distributed, 1–7(–10)-flowered.

enclosed in or exserted from ocreae, erect, 1–4 mm.

enclosed in or sometimes exserted from ocreae, 1–2.5 mm.

closed or at least some open;

perianth (2.5–)4 mm;

tube 20–40% of perianth length;

tepals overlapping, greenish or reddish, sometimes flushed with purple, with white or pink margins, sepaloid or petaloid, oblong or oblong-elliptic, cucullate, navicular, apex rounded;

midveins unbranched or with few branches at base;

stamens 3–8.

closed;

perianth (2.2–)2.5–4.5 mm;

tube 23–38% of perianth length;

tepals initially overlapping, pushed apart as achene develops, green, margins white to pink, petaloid, not keeled, oblong, cucullate;

midveins branched, sometimes not visible;

stamens 6–8.

enclosed in perianth, black, elliptic or ovate, 2.5–3.3 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth.

exserted from perianth, brown to dark brown, broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, (2–)3-gonous, (1.8–)2–3.7(–4.5) mm, faces subequal or unequal, flat to concave, apex beaked, edges strongly concave, shiny to dull, roughened, rarely obscurely tubercled; late-season achenes common, 4–6 mm.