Flora of North America species comparison

erect to straggling, branched or not, 4-angled, 3–32 cm, glabrous or softly pubescent, angles not minutely papillate-scabrid.

erect, branched, 4-sided, 10–40 cm, with alternating lines of spreading, soft, flexuous, mainly eglandular hairs.

sessile;

blade green, frequently glaucous, 1–3-veined, midrib prominent, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, widest at base, 0.4–2.6(–4) cm × 1–4 mm, strongly coriaceous or not, base round, margins entire, convex, glabrous or ciliate, apex acute to acuminate, not spinescent, shiny, smooth, glabrous or sparingly villous, base usually glabrous, rarely with few cilia.

usually sessile (distal), often short-petiolate (proximal);

blade elliptic, obovate, or lanceolate, widest at or beyond middle, 1–10 cm × 5–35 mm, base cuneate, margins entire, apex acute, glabrous to sparsely pubescent adaxially, ciliate on margins and abaxial midrib.

with flowers solitary, or terminal, 3–30-flowered (rarely more) cymes;

bracts lanceolate, 2–10 mm, herbaceous with scarious margins, or scarious throughout, glabrous or ciliate.

terminal, 3–70-flowered cymes;

bracts elliptic to lanceolate, 7–65 mm, herbaceous.

ascending to erect, straight, 5–30 mm, glabrous or softly pubescent.

erect in flower, often deflexed at base in fruit, 5–40 mm, softly pubescent.

5–10 mm diam.;

sepals 5, 3-veined, midrib prominent, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 3.5–5 mm, margins convex, narrow, scarious, sometimes ciliate, apex acute, glabrous or pubescent;

petals 5, 3–8 mm, 1–1.5 times as long as sepals;

stamens 5–10;

styles 3(–6), ascending, curled at tip, ca. 1.5 mm.

(8–)10–12 mm diam.;

sepals 5, with midrib, ovate, 3.5–6 mm, margins narrow, scarious, apex obtuse to acute, softly and often sparsely pubescent;

petals 5, 4–8 mm, longer than sepals;

stamens 10;

styles 3, ascending, 2.5 mm.

blackish purple or straw colored, ovoid to ovoid-lanceoloid, 4–6 mm, 1.5–2 times as long as sepals, apex broadly acute, opening by 6 valves;

carpophore absent.

green to straw colored, broadly ovoid, 3.5–5.5 mm, ca. equaling sepals, apex obtuse, opening by 6 valves;

carpophore absent.

brown, reniform to globose, 0.6–0.9 mm diam., shallowly tuberculate to smooth.

brown, obliquely reniform, 1.5–2 mm diam., coarsely sulcate-papillate.

= 52–104, (107).

= 30.