[+] Acute tips of the corolla-lobes inflexed.
4. C. decòra, Engelm. Stems coarse; flowers fleshy and more or less papillose; calyx-lobes triangular, acute; those of the broadly campanulate corolla ovate-lanceolate, minutely crenulate, spreading; scales large, deeply fringed; capsule enveloped by remains of corolla. (C. indecora, Choisy.)—Var. pulchérrima, Engelm. The larger form, with coarser stems, and conspicuous flowers 1½–2½´´ long and wide; anthers and stigmas yellow or deep purple.—Wet prairies, on herbs and low shrubs (principally Leguminosæ and Compositæ), from Ill. to Fla. and Tex., and westward.
5. C. infléxa, Engelm. Similar to the preceding; flowers of the same structure, but smaller (only 1´´ long), generally 4-merous; corolla deeper, with erect lobes, finally capping the capsule; scales reduced to a few teeth.—Open woods and dry prairies, on shrubs (hazels, etc.) or coarse herbs, southern N. Eng. to Neb. and Ark.
[+][+] Corolla-lobes obtuse, spreading.
6. C. Gronòvii, Willd. Stems coarse, often climbing high; corolla-lobes mostly shorter than the deeply campanulate tube; scales copiously fringed; capsule globose, umbonate.—Wet shady places, Canada to Minn., south to Fla. and Tex. The commonest of our species. Flowers very variable in size and compactness of clusters.—Var. latiflòra, Engelm., is a form with flowers of more delicate texture, and shorter tube and longer lobes to the corolla. Common northward.
7. C. rostràta, Shuttleworth. Similar to the preceding; flowers larger (2–3´´ long), more delicate and whiter; lobes of corolla and calyx shorter than its tube; slender styles longer; ovary bottle-shaped; capsule long-pointed.—Shady valleys in the Alleghanies, from Md. and Va., southward; on tall herbs, rarely shrubs.
[*][*][*] Sepals 5, distinct, surrounded by 2 or more similar bracts; styles capillary; scales large, deeply fringed; capsule capped by the marcescent corolla.
8. C. cuspidàta, Engelm. Stems slender; flowers (1½–2¼´´ long) thin, on bracteolate pedicels in loose panicles; the ovate-orbicular bracts and sepals and the oblong corolla-lobes cuspidate or mucronate, rarely obtuse, shorter than the cylindrical tube; styles many times longer than the ovary, at length exserted.—Wet or dry prairies, on Ambrosia, Iva, some Leguminosæ, etc., Neb. to Tex., occasionally down the Missouri as far as St. Louis.
9. C. compácta, Juss. Stems coarse; flowers closely sessile in densely compact clusters; bracts (3–5) and sepals orbicular, concave, slightly crenate, appressed, nearly equalling or much shorter than the cylindrical tube of the corolla; stamens shorter than the oblong obtuse spreading lobes of the latter.—Along the west side of the Alleghanies from Ont. to Ala., west to Mo. and Tex. In damp woods, almost always on shrubs.
10. C. glomeràta, Choisy. Flowers very densely clustered, forming knotty masses closely encircling the stem of the foster plant, much imbricated with scarious oblong bracts, their tips recurved-spreading; sepals nearly similar, shorter than the oblong-cylindrical tube of the corolla; stamens nearly as long as the oblong-lanceolate obtuse spreading or reflexed corolla-lobes; style several times longer than the ovary.—Wet prairies, Ohio to Minn., Kan., and Tex., mostly on tall Compositæ. The rope-like twists (½–¾´ thick), of white flowers with golden yellow anthers imbedded in a mass of curly bracts, have a singular appearance.