Flora of North America species comparison

not readily fragmenting, prostrate, upperside and underside structurally different, irregularly forked;

branches determinate, tips upturned.

radially symmetric, underground (rhizomatous) and aerial, not readily fragmenting, irregularly forked; rhizomatous and aerial stems often with 1 branch arrested, budlike, tips straight; rhizomatous stems mostly ascending;

aerial stems erect or ascending.

conspicuously dimorphic, in 8 ranks, tightly appressed, ascending, green;

abaxial ridges present;

apex with deciduous, twisted, transparent bristle ± 0.3 mm, becoming acute to slightly mucronate in oldest branches.

dimorphic, in pseudowhorls of 4.

solitary, 3–8 mm;

sporophylls ovate-deltate, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, margins ciliate, apex acute to mucronate.

solitary, (0.5–)1–3(–3.5) cm;

sporophylls ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, often abruptly tapering toward apex, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, rarely with few hairs, margins ciliate, apex often recurved, bristled.

borne on upperside of stems, throughout stem length, 0.2 mm diam.

borne on upperside of stems, restricted to rhizomatous stems, 0.2–0.33 mm diam.

leaves lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic (on central ranks) or falcate (on marginal ranks), 2–2.7 × 0.5–0.7 mm;

base decurrent, glabrous;

margins ciliate, cilia transparent to opaque, spreading, 0.04–0.1 mm.

leaves lanceolate, 1.3–1.4 × 0.3–0.4 mm;

base abruptly adnate, pubescent, hairs often running along groove;

margins ciliate, cilia transparent to opaque, spreading, ca. 0.1 mm.

stem leaves persistent, appressed, scalelike.

stem leaves tightly or somewhat loosely appressed, ascending, green, narrowly triangular-lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 2–3 × 0.4–0.5 mm;

abaxial ridges present;

base cuneate, strongly decurrent, pubescent or glabrescent;

hairs restricted to base;

margins short-ciliate, cilia transparent, scattered, spreading at base, dentiform and ascending toward apex, 0.02–0.07 mm;

apex plane, attenuate;

bristle white to whitish, straight, coarsely puberulent, 0.25–0.85(–0.9) mm.