Flora of North America species comparison

1–several, often forming rounded mounds, puberulent to loosely tomentose.

1–few, erect or ascending, openly branched distally, villous to scabrous with septate hairs and loosely tomentose, ± glabrate.

puberulent to loosely gray-tomentose, becoming ± glabrous, minutely resin-gland-dotted;

proximal leaves petiolate, blades 10–20 cm, 1–3 times pinnately dissected, rosette with central cluster of spines;

mid sessile, not decurrent, blades ovate, usually less than 10 cm, narrowly lobed;

distal blades linear to oblong, entire to shallowly lobed.

basal and proximal cauline petiolate, blades oblanceolate or elliptic, 5–25 cm, margins entire or shallowly dentate to irregularly pinnately lobed;

distal cauline sessile, not decurrent, blades linear to lanceolate, gradually smaller, entire or dentate.

ovoid, 15–20 × 6–8 mm.

ovoid to campanulate or hemispheric, 15–18 mm, usually ± as wide as high.

25–40;

corollas purple, all ± equal, 15–24 mm;

sterile corollas slender.

40–100+, all fertile or the peripheral sterile;

corollas purple (rarely white), those of sterile florets ± expanded and exceeding corollas of fertile florets, those of fertile florets 15–18 mm.

appendages truncate, spineless.

tips truncate, irregularly dentate or lobed.

disciform, borne singly or in leafy cymiform arrays, sessile or short-pedunculate.

usually radiant (rarely discoid), in few-headed corymbiform arrays, borne on leafy-bracted peduncles.

white or brown-streaked, 2.5–3.4 mm, glabrous;

pappi 0.

tan, 2.5–3 mm, finely hairy;

pappi 0 or of many unequal, sometimes caducous bristles 0.5–1 mm.

phyllaries: bodies greenish or stramineous, ovate, scarious-margined, appendages stramineous, spiny fringed at base, each tipped by a stout spreading spine 10–25 mm.

phyllaries: bodies lanceolate to ovate, loosely tomentose or glabrous, usually concealed by expanded appendages, appendages erect, overlapping, light to dark brown, flat or ± concave, margins varying from coarsely dentate to pectinately dissected into ± wiry lobes.

= 20.

= 22 (England), 44.