Unless indicated otherwise, the following attributes are implicit throughout the descriptions, except where the characters concerned are inapplicable.
Vegetative morphology. Plants herbs; not caespitose; not colonial; not vegetatively proliferating by bulbils or fragmentation; without milky juice; not glandular viscid. Taproot absent. Ground-level or under-ground stems not developed horizontally or vertically. Aerial stems developed; aerial stems not conspicuously jointed; aerial stems not filiform; aerial stems without resinous warts, sessile glands or glandular hairs. Branches not glaucous; epidermis not flaky. Leaves present and green; leaves not heterophyllous; leaves not distinctly distichous; leaves simple. Stipules absent; not sheathing; without glands. Petioles present; unwinged; without sessile glands; glandular dots at the base of the leaf absent. Blades herbaceous; straight; without auricles; not septate nodulose. Blades adaxial surface dull; without sessile glands. Blades abaxial surface not glaucous; without sessile glands. Blade margins not lobed. Blade margins entire; glabrous. Conspicuous hydathodes absent.
Reproductive morphology. Plants with sporangia. Plants bisexual. Flowering stems present. Flowering stems conspicuously taller than the leaves; without leaves in the upper half; hairy. Flowering stems glandular hairs absent. Flowering stem hairs shorter than the diameter of the flowering stem. Flowering culm nodes not rooting at the lower nodes. Flag leaf sheaths not inflated. Leaf or reduced bract closely associated with the base of the inflorescence persistent; without calloused tip. Flowers in inflorescences. Inflorescence terminal; not elongating as the fruit matures; without bulbils. Pedicels present. Bisexual spike(s) without empty bracts at the base. Involucral bracts absent. Inner involucral bracts apex entire. Flowers actinomorphic. Floral scales not reflexed; not falling early. Callus not differentiated. Perianth present. Epicalyx absent; calyx present. Calyx herbaceous; non-accrescent; without sessile glands; margins without cilia. Petals present; longer than the calyx; without contrasting markings; not tipped with an awn-like bristle; not spurred. Flowers bisexual. Stamens present and probably functional. Stamens filaments all equal in length; free of the corolla. Styles present; completely fused; base not enlarged, continuous with the achene. Placentation axile. Fruit not surrounded by a perigynium. Perigynia not inflated; not keeled; apex not bidentate or oblique. Fruit without calyx persisting. Fruit glabrous. Legume valves straight. Styles may persist until dehiscence but are not modified.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: Canada.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).