Flora of North America species comparison

1–several, much-branched throughout, puberulent and ± gray tomentose.

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

hispidulous and ± short-tomentose;

basal and proximal cauline petiolate, often absent at anthesis, blades 10–20 cm, margins bipinnately dissected into narrow lobes;

mid cauline sessile, bipinnately dissected;

distal much smaller, entire or pinnately 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.

narrowly ovoid or cylindric, 10–13 × 3–5 mm.

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

25–35;

corollas cream white (rarely pink or pale purple), those of sterile florets 12–13 mm, slender, inconspicuous, those of fertile florets 12–13 mm.

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.

lanceolate, ± acute, appendage lacerate or spine-tipped.

tips truncate, irregularly dentate or lobed.

disciform, in open paniculiform arrays.

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

dark brown, ca. 2–3 mm;

pappi 0 or less than 0.5 mm, only rudimentary.

tan, 2.5–3 mm, finely hairy;

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

phyllaries: bodies pale green, ovate to lanceolate, glabrous or finely tomentose, with a few prominent parallel veins, margins and erect appendages fringed with slender stramineous spines, each phyllary tipped by spine 1–3 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.

= 18, 36.

= 22 (England), 44.