Flora of North America species comparison

usually present, often poorly developed in epiphytic taxa.

short.

very short to very elongate.

15–20, many-ranked, spreading, gray-green or flushed rose, 12–30 × 1–2 cm, finely appressed-scaly;

sheath pale to nearly chestnut brown, ovate, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 2–4 cm wide;

blade narrowly triangular, tapering evenly from base to apex, nearly plane to channeled, soft, brittle, margins involute, apex attentuate.

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, 3–10 cm, 2–5 mm diam.;

bracts densely imbricate, erect, blade often hanging, like leaves but gradually smaller;

sheath of bracts narrowing abruptly into blade;

spikes erect or ascending, never palmate, linear, compressed, 5–20 × 0.8–1.2 cm, apex acute; simple or laxly 2–3 lateral branches.

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

bracts usually present, conspicuous.

5–30, conspicuous;

sepals with adaxial pair connate, oblong, keeled, 1.5–1.8 cm, thin-leathery, slightly veined, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous;

corolla tubular, petals erect, lavender-blue, ligulate, to 3 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 3 cm.

capsules or berries.

plumose, winged, or unappendaged.

bracts laxly imbricate, erect, green, red, or purple, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled toward apex, 1.8–2 × 0.6–0.9 cm, leathery, base visible in fruit, apex acute, surfaces glabrous.