Flora of North America species comparison

horizontal, short, praemorse, fleshy.

horizontal, brownish, short, thick, praemorse, not brittle.

1–2, round in cross section, 0.4–1.5 dm, slender, glabrous.

1–5, 1.6–4.5 dm, smooth to rough near bract attachment.

distinctly petiolate;

blade bluish green, occasionally with silvery green pattern along major veins, ovate-lanceolate, 1.5–8 × 0.8–6 cm, somewhat thick-textured, glossy, weakly to strongly cordate basally, apex long-acuminate;

petiole (0.5–)1–3(–6) cm.

held well above ground, sessile;

blade green to purplish green, weakly to strongly mottled, mottling becoming obscure with age, ovate, ovate-elliptic, occasionally ovate-orbicular with margins overlapping, 7–18.5 × 7–13 cm, usually widest below middle, not glossy, base ± rounded, margins of distal 1/3 convex-curved to apex, apex acuminate to acute.

erect, rapidly recurving below bracts after pollination, ± odorless;

sepals conspicuous, spreading, green, weakly sulcate, oblong or tapered apically, usually shorter and narrower than petals, 10–23 × 4–8 mm, margins entire, apex rounded-apiculate;

petals erect-spreading, not recurved or only in distal 1/2, white (rarely pale pink), usually with dark madder-purple flecks, rarely almost entirely covered with madder-purple, color not changing with age, veins inconspicuous, not engraved, ovate-cordate to ± orbicular, tapered bluntly apically above middle, 1.3–2.8 × 1–2.4 cm, ± thin-textured, base rounded, cuneate, margins entire, mostly without undulations, apex ± apiculate-acuminate;

stamens erect, 5–12 mm;

filaments white, ± equaling anthers;

anthers straight, yellow, 3–6 mm, dehiscence ± extrorse;

connectives not extended beyond anther sacs;

ovary creamy white, ovoid, weakly 6-angled but angles in close pairs, giving superficial impression of 3-angled ovary, short, 3–9 × 4 mm, somewhat obscured by anthers broadly attached;

stigmas recurved and appearing ± lobed adaxially, at least in dried specimens, connate basally to distinct and closely grouped, white or cream, 2–4 mm, uniformly thick, fleshy;

pedicel strongly erect at anthesis, strongly recurving and elongating below bracts after pollination, 2.5–11 cm.

borne upon bracts, erect, odor usually pleasant, faint, spicy, reminiscent of odor of bruised sweetshrub (Calycanthus) leaves, occasionally musty or unpleasant;

sepals widely spreading, variably green, purple-streaked to all purple, oblong-lanceolate, 27–60 × 7–13 mm, margins entire, apex rounded to acute;

petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, maroon, maroon-purple, brownish purple, bronze, greenish purple, clear green, yellowish green, pale lemon yellow, or 2-colored, yellow distally with purple base, in occasional clones, flowers open or quickly fade to bright copper bronze, the particular color pattern is consistent from year to year, fading to browner tones with age except in yellow or green forms, not spirally twisted, shape quite variable across range, elliptic-obovate to oblanceolate, 4–7 × 0.9–2.7 cm, thick-textured, with widest portion at or above middle, narrowed to usually cuneate basally, not clawed, margins flat, entire, apex acute, rounded-acute to obtuse;

stamens erect, straight, brownish purple-green, 11–18 mm;

filaments brownish purple, 1.5–3.5 mm, widest at base;

anthers erect, straight, brownish gray, 7–14 mm, dehiscence latrorse or occasionally introrse;

connectives straight, scarcely (0.5 mm or less) if at all extended beyond anther sacs;

ovary maroon, ovoid to vase-shaped, weakly 6-angled or -ridged when mature, 12–15 mm;

stigmas erect, slightly diverging to spreading, distinct, purplish gray, linear-subulate to thickly subulate, 4–15 mm, fleshy.

greenish white, odorless, globose, 0.9–1.2 × 0.8–1 cm, pulpy, not juicy.

green or with purple streaks, ovoid, very obscurely angled or angles no longer apparent, 2 × 1–1.5 cm, mealy or pulpy, fleshy, not juicy.

= 10.

= 10.