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;

aerial stems mainly erect, seldom ascending, with budlike arrested branches throughout stem length.

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, not clearly ranked.

solitary, 3–8 mm;

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

solitary, 0.5–1.2(–2.5) cm;

sporophylls deltate-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, abaxial ridges prominent, base glabrous, margins denticulate, apex acute to obtuse.

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

borne on upperside of stems, restricted to rhizomatous stems and lower 1/4 of aerial stems, 0.16–0.3 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 loosely appressed, straight, scalelike.

stem leaves appressed, ascending, green, linear-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, 1.8–2.1 × 0.49–0.56 mm;

abaxial ridges prominent;

base cuneate and decurrent to slightly rounded and adnate, glabrous;

margins denticulate to very short-ciliate, cilia transparent, spreading to ascending toward apex, 0.02–0.04 mm;

apex acute or seldom blunt.