Flora of North America species comparison

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

often spreading or prostrate, usually branched throughout, usually reddish, ± loosely tomentose.

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.

mostly cauline, sessile and often short-decurrent or proximal tapering to winged petioles, blades lanceolate to oblanceolate, 6–25 cm, margins coarsely dentate or pinnately lobed, lobes and teeth armed with short, weak spines, faces sparsely to densely hairy with jointed multicellular hairs and slender cobwebby hairs, resin-gland-dotted.

ovoid, 15–20 × 6–8 mm.

± spheric, 20–40 mm.

25–40;

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

sterile corollas slender.

many;

corollas yellow, those of sterile florets linear, 3-lobed, not exceeding disc corollas, very slender, those of disc florets 19–24 mm.

in several series, tightly overlapping, outer ovate with tightly appressed bases and spreading spine tips, inner lanceolate, tipped by pinnately divided spines more than 5 mm.

appendages truncate, spineless.

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

disciform, borne singly, sessile, each subtended by involucre-like cluster of leaf-like bracts.

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

pappi 0.

cylindric, slightly curved, 8–11 mm, with 20 prominent ribs, tipped by a 10-dentate rim, glabrous, attachment scars lateral;

pappi of 2 series of awns, outer 9–10 mm, smooth or ± roughened, inner 2–5 mm, roughened with short spreading hairs.

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

= 20.

= 22.