Flora of North America species comparison

horizontal, brownish, thick, praemorse, fleshy.

short, thick.

1–3, round in cross section, 0.8–2.5 dm, slender to stout, glabrous.

1–2, decumbent, usually by an S-shaped curvature, round in cross section, 0.5–2 dm, somewhat stout, slightly expanded toward bracts, densely puberulent, especially just below bracts and on bases of main bract veins beneath.

held well above ground, sessile;

blade green to bluish green, strongly to sparsely mottled, mottling becoming obscure with age, oval to suborbicular, 4–10 × 2–8 cm, base broadly attached, apex rounded-acuminate to bluntly parallel sided-acuminate (rounded basally to its broad attachment).

appearing early in season, in good condition for only a few weeks after anthesis, dying back to semipersistent bases early, resting on ground surface, sessile;

blade strongly mottled in shades of green and bronze and with silvery overlay, mottling becoming obscure with age, ovate to suborbicular, 4–12 × 3.3–7 cm, apex acute to rounded.

erect, odor pungent, spicy;

sepals displayed above bracts, spreading, green, variously streaked with maroon, lanceolate-oblanceolate, 9–35 × 4–8 mm, margins entire, apex rounded-acuminate;

petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, maroon, brownish maroon, green, or yellowish green, not spirally twisted, oblanceolate to elliptic, occasionally almost orbicular, 1.7–3.5 × 0.7–2 cm, thick-textured, narrowed near basal attachment (but not truly clawed), margins entire, apex gradually rounded-tapered to acute;

stamens straight, 10–23 mm;

filaments red-purple, 2–5 mm, dilated basally;

anthers erect, straight, gray-purple, 9–16 mm, thick, dehiscence introrse;

connectives purplish brown, straight, projecting 2–5+ mm beyond anther sacs;

ovary greenish white basally, purple distally, ovoid to globose, 6-angled, pyramidally narrowed to stigmas, 4–8.5 mm;

stigmas erect, divergent-recurved, distinct, purple, subulate, 1–5 mm, ± fleshy.

erect, odor unreported;

sepals divergent, green- or maroon-streaked, lanceolate-ovate, 22–48 × 9–14 mm, margins entire, flat, apex acute;

petals long-lasting, rigidly erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, dark maroon-purple when fresh, fading especially distally to dull reddish brown, greenish brown, or with creamy yellow tones, very rarely pale lemon yellow forms occur, twisted (but not spiraled), linear-lanceolate or oblanceolate, 4–8+ × 0.7–1 cm, thick-textured, margins entire, apex acute;

stamens erect, straight, dark purple, 10–25 mm;

filaments dark purple, 2–5 mm;

anthers straight, dark purple, 9–20 mm, dehiscence extrorse;

connectives broad, extending to 3.5–4 mm beyond anther sacs;

ovary dark purple, oval, 6-angled, 5–10 mm;

stigmas erect, divergent-recurved, distinct, sessile, pink or white, subulate, 4.5–8 mm.

baccate, dark greenish purple, odorless, subglobose, 6-angled, angles somewhat winglike, pulpy, not juicy.

baccate, dark purple, broadly ovoid to subglobose, crownlike, strongly ridged, 1–1.5 × 1 cm, pulpy but not juicy, present and enlarging on naked scapes until early autumn.

= 10.

= 10.