Flora of North America species comparison

horizontal, short, praemorse, fleshy.

horizontal, brownish, short or somewhat compressed-thickened, bulblike, praemorse, not brittle.

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

1–2, 1–2.2 dm, slender, essentially glabrous.

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 mottled dark green over lighter green, mottling fading or blurring with time, ovate, elliptic to almost circular, 6–13 × 4–7 cm, apex acute to acuminate.

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.

erect, odor faintly pleasant, resembling sweetshrub (Calycanthus sp.);

sepals displayed above bracts, spreading, green, oblong-lanceolate, shorter than petals, 20–30 × 7–19 mm, margins entire, apex acute;

petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary to spreading distally, soft pale sulfur-yellow, fading to ± cream, sometimes slightly spirally twisted, widely spatulate, clawed basally, 2.2–5 × 0.9–1.5 cm, thick-textured, margins entire, often upraised adaxially, at least 1 petal with apex strongly apiculate, nipplelike, others with apex apiculate-acuminate;

claw green, sometimes obscurely marked or mottled with purple, broadly cuneate;

stamens incurved-erect, 8–15 mm;

filaments purple, 1–2.5 mm;

anthers erect, straight or arcuate, brown, 6.5–14 mm, dehiscence introrse-latrorse;

connectives straight, extending 1–2 mm beyond anthers;

ovary purplish, ovoid, 6-ridged, 2.5–8.5 mm;

stigmas divergent to erect, distinct, purplish white, subulate, short, 2–6 mm, ± fleshy.

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

baccate, greenish white, subglobose, weakly 6-winged, 1–5 × 1 cm, pulpy or mealy, not juicy.

= 10.

= 10.