Flora of North America species comparison

basal or nearly so;

petiole 1–4(–7) cm;

blade oblanceolate, 1.5–5 × 0.2–0.7(–1) cm, villous.

basal;

petiole 0.5–2(–3.5) cm;

blade oblanceolate to narrowly oblong, 0.5–2.5(–4) × 0.2–0.6(–1.2) cm, thinly pubescent.

with secondary branches not suppressed except in terminal clusters of involucres, green to reddish;

bracts 2, similar to proximal leaf blades only reduced, short-petiolate, becoming linear and aciculate at distal nodes, acerose, 1–5 cm × 2–5(–7) mm, awns absent.

with involucres in small, open clusters 0.3–1 cm diam., greenish or grayish to reddish;

bracts 2, sessile, usually leaflike, oblanceolate to elliptic, 0.5–1.5 cm × 1.5–7 mm, gradually reduced and becoming scalelike at distal nodes, linear, aciculate, acerose, 0.1–0.5 cm × 1–2 mm, awns straight, 0.4–1 mm.

1, greenish, cylindric, not ventricose, 2.5–4 mm, with white to pinkish, thin scarious margins restricted to basal portion of teeth, not corrugate, thinly pubescent abaxially;

teeth spreading, equal, 0.3–0.8(–1) mm;

awns uncinate with longer ones 0.7–1.3 mm and anterior one mostly 1–1.3 mm, these alternating with shorter (0.3–0.7 mm) ones.

3–5, greenish or grayish to reddish, urceolate, slightly ventricose basally, 1.5–2 mm, corrugate, without scarious or membranous margins, pubescent;

teeth widely spreading to divergent or recurved, equal, 0.5–1.5 mm or 1–3 mm;

awns uncinate or straight, unequal, alternating 0.5–1.5 mm and 0.2–0.5 mm.

slightly exserted;

perianth bicolored with floral tube white and tepals white to rose, cylindric, 2.5–4 mm, pubescent abaxially;

tepals connate 1/4 their length, monomorphic, oblanceolate to narrowly oblong, usually truncate to rounded and erose or denticulate apically, occasionally distinctly cuspidate;

stamens 9, included;

filaments distinct, 2–3.5 mm, glabrous;

anthers pink to red or maroon, oblong, 0.6–0.8 mm.

slightly exserted;

perianth bicolored with floral tube greenish white and tepals white, cylindric, 2.5–3 mm, sparsely pubescent;

tepals connate 2/3 their length, slightly dimorphic, those of outer whorl oblong to oblong-ovate, 1.5 times longer than those of inner whorl, rounded, erose or rarely some entire to denticulate apically, those of inner whorl linear-oblanceolate, acute, entire or denticulate apically;

stamens 9, included;

filaments distinct, 2–2.5 mm, glabrous;

anthers white, ovate, 0.2–0.3 mm.

light brown, globose-lenticular, 3.5–4 mm.

brown, globose-lenticular, 2.5–3 mm.