Flora of North America species comparison

short, stout, praemorse.

horizontal, brownish, thick, praemorse, not brittle.

1–2 per rhizome terminus, round in cross section, 3–6.5 dm, ± slender to stout, glabrous.

1–3, green or bronze-green, round in cross section, 1.7–4.4 dm, stout, glabrous.

sessile to subsessile;

blade rhombic, 10–20 × 6–20 cm, often wider than long, not glossy, base attenuate, apex acuminate.

held horizontally, not drooping, tips at anthesis held well above ground, sessile;

blade usually very strongly marked with at least 3 shades of dark green, bronze green, and purplish green, often with light central strip, mottling becoming obscure with age, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, widest at ca. 1/3 of length from basal attachment, tapered very gradually to tip, 8–17+ × 4.9–8.5 cm, rounded basally, margins of distal 1/3 straight, apex acute.

carried beneath bracts, odor faintly sweet;

sepals spreading, pale green, lanceolate-acuminate, 25–50 × 6–18 mm, margins involute, apex acuminate;

petals spreading to recurved distally, adaxially crimson, maroon-red, or brownish red, abaxially paler, grayish pink or rose, veins engraved, ovate-suborbicular, 3–6.5 × 4–6 cm, somewhat fleshy, base rounded and overlapping, margins entire, apex acute;

stamens conspicuous, ± erect to weakly recurved, 15–25 mm, longer than pistil at anthesis;

filaments grayish purple to blackish purple, longer than anthers, 5–12 mm, slender;

anthers weakly recurving, grayish purple to maroon, slender, dehiscence introrse;

connectives purple, barely equaling anther sacs;

ovary small, maroon or dark reddish purple, ± globose to conical-pyramidal, 6-ridged, 3–12 mm, basal attachment less than ovary width;

stigmas erect, recurved, distinct, gray-purple, not lobed adaxially, basally widened, ± linear distally, 2.5–6.5 mm, fleshy;

pedicel horizontal to declined-drooping, ± straight, 2–13 cm.

faintly ill-scented;

sepals divergent-ascending, streaked with green to maroon, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 36–68 × 12–21 mm, margins entire, flat or slightly raised adaxially, apex acute;

petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, ± partially concealing stamens and ovary, maroon-purple, brownish purple to brown, greenish streaked to green, rarely yellow, becoming brown, or occasionally bright copper-bronze with age, not spirally twisted, veins not engraved, obovate to oblanceolate, large in proportion to leaf size compared to many species, 5–9 × 1–2 cm, 2+ times longer than wide, widest at or just above middle, thick-textured, margins entire, flat, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded;

stamens erect or incurving, 12–24 mm;

filaments yellow, 2–3 mm;

anthers erect, straight, rarely arcuate, yellow, 10–15 mm, dehiscence latrorse;

connectives straight, projecting 1–2 mm beyond anther sacs;

ovary dark red, brown, or gray, ellipsoid, strongly 6-angled, 6–13 mm;

stigmas basally erect, tips recoiled upon ovary, distinct, green, white, or purple, linear, short, 3–12 mm, slightly thickened basally, not fleshy.

dark reddish maroon, ovoid, obtusely angled, relatively small, 1–1.4 × 1–2 cm, pulpy.

baccate, dark green to purple, odor not reported, ellipsoid, strongly grooved and ridged, pulpy or mealy.

= 10.

= 10.