Flora of North America species comparison

few to many, erect to ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched distally, sometimes with leafy axillary shoots, lanate to woolly, hairs dense, spreading to weakly appressed, white to yellowish, medium length, soft, moderately branched or unbranched in different populations, sometimes mixed, eglandular, rarely short stipitate-glandular, mostly obscuring surface.

solitary or few, erect, from a basal rosette that usually persists into anthesis, unbranched or few-branched from mid stem, glabrate proximally, hairy distally, hairs moderately dense, spreading, long, soft, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones.

green to purple, often hidden by matted, white hairs, linear to narrowly oblong or narrowly lanceolate, (1–)2–7(–10) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, sometimes involute, 0–3-lobed, apex rounded, sometimes acute;

lobes spreading, linear or narrowly oblong, apex rounded to acute.

basal forming a persistent rosette, often withered at anthesis, usually suffused to varying degrees with red, sometimes green, oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate, 2–6 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0-lobed, apex obtuse to broadly rounded to sometimes acute or subtruncate;

cauline green, sometimes proximal suffused with red or purple, linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, 1.1–6.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex usually acute, rarely obtuse;

lobes erect to ascending, narrowly oblong to linear or narrowly lanceolate, to 1.8 cm, apex acute.

2–19 × 1.5–5 cm;

bracts proximally pale greenish to greenish gray, distally bright red to orange-red, sometimes pinkish, magenta, or salmon, rarely yellow, oblong to narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, deeply 0–3(–5)-lobed;

lobes spreading, oblanceolate or linear, long, arising below mid length, distal bract apex usually rounded.

(2–)4–24(–33) × 2–4 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally bright yellow, rarely light orange, proximal narrowly lanceolate, leaflike, distal oblong to broadly rounded-oblanceolate, continuing to grow after anthesis and becoming greener and more leaflike, lateral lobes, if present, growing even more than central lobe, 0–5-lobed;

lobes erect, triangular or lanceolate, sometimes linear, short or medium length, arising above mid length, proximal bract apex acute, distal rounded, rarely central lobe shallowly toothed.

curved in proximal 1/3, 23–35(–42) mm;

tube 12–17 mm;

beak exserted, adaxially greenish to yellowish, 11–22 mm;

abaxial lip dark green, reduced, 1–4 mm, ca. 20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, reduced, green, 0.5–2.5 mm.

straight or slightly curved, (15–)17–23 mm;

tube 8–11 mm;

abaxial lip rarely exserted, beak exserted;

beak adaxially green or yellow-green, 5–7 mm, margins yellow or yellow-green;

abaxial lip ascending, deep green, slightly inflated, 2–3 mm, 20–30% as long as beak, apex rounded;

teeth ascending, green, whitish, or yellow, 0.5–2 mm.

proximally whitish to green, central band whitish, distal 1/3 colored as bract lobes, sometimes lighter or deeper, 15–29 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–14 mm, ca. 50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–5 mm, 0–5(–15)% of calyx length;

lobes oblong to broadly triangular, apex rounded, truncate, or emarginate.

proximally whitish or pale green, often aging purple, distally yellow, (13–)15–18 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–7 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–0.2 mm, ca. 0% of calyx length;

lobes curved, oblong, apex rounded to truncate, sometimes emarginate.

= 24.