Flora of North America species comparison

usually present, often poorly developed in epiphytic taxa.

short.

very short to very elongate.

20–50, many-ranked, erect to spreading, gray to gray-green, 25–50 × 1–2.5 cm, grayish-scaly;

sheath dark rust colored toward base, broadly elliptic, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 3–4 cm wide;

blade narrowly triangular, tapering evenly from base to apex, stiff, leathery, channeled to involute, apex attenuate.

usually spirally arranged, forming water-impounding rosette, occasionally lax and/or 2-ranked, simple, margins serrate or entire, trichomes nearly always covering surface, peltate, water-absorbing.

scape conspicuous, erect or ascending, 10–35 cm, 4–8 mm diam.;

bracts densely imbricate, erect to spreading, like leaves but gradually smaller;

sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade;

spikes erect to spreading, densely palmate to laxly 2(–3)-pinnate, narrowly elliptic, compressed, 5–20 × 1.5–2.5 cm, apex acute;

lateral branches 3–15.

terminal or lateral, sessile to scapose, simple or compound;

bracts usually present, conspicuous.

10–50, conspicuous;

sepals with adaxial pair connate, lanceolate, to 1/2 keeled, to 4.2 cm, leathery, slightly veined, apex acute, surfaces glabrous to slightly scaly;

corolla tubular, petals erect, violet (white), ligulate, 5–6 cm;

stamens exserted;

stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral.

bisexual or functionally unisexual, radially symmetric to slightly bilaterally symmetric;

perianth in 2 distinct sets of 3;

stamens in 2 series of 3;

ovary inferior or superior;

placentation axile.

to 4 cm.

capsules or berries.

plumose, winged, or unappendaged.

bracts imbricate, erect, red, red-yellow-green, or green, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled, 2–4.8 × 1.2–2 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or slightly scaly toward apex, venation even to slight.