Flora of North America species comparison

usually 1, erect, subglabrous to puberulent and/or tomentose;

branches 0–several, stiffly ascending.

1, fleshy, erect, openly branched in distal 1/2, glabrous;

branches on distal stems several, ascending.

blades ± elliptic, 8–35 × 4–8 cm, divided about halfway to midveins, lobes spreading, triangular, coarsely dentate or with a few broad lobes, obtuse to acute, main spines 1–5 mm, abaxial faces green or gray, thinly tomentose, adaxial green and glabrous to sparingly pilose;

basal often present at flowering, spiny winged-petiolate;

main cauline reduced distally, bases clasping;

distal much reduced, linear-oblong, usually less deeply lobed and often spinier than proximal.

blades oblong, 10–50 × 6–12 cm, margins usually not strongly undulate, coarsely dentate or shallowly to deeply pinnatifid with 10–15 pairs of lobes, teeth or lobes ± closely spaced, not much overlapping, narrowly to broadly triangular, spiny-dentate or larger shallowly 3–5-lobed, main spines 2–12 mm, abaxial faces glabrous, adaxial glabrous;

basal present at flowering, petiolate or spiny winged-petiolate;

principal cauline many, well distributed, proximally ± winged-petiolate, distally sessile, gradually reduced, less divided, bases auriculate-claping and/or decurrent as spiny wings to 2 cm;

distal much reduced.

0–20 cm.

0–2 cm Involucres green, ovoid to campanulate (not including spreading phyllary apices), 2.5–4 × 2.5–3.5 cm, appearing glabrous.

broadly cylindric to narrowly campanulate, 3–5 × 2–4 cm, loosely arachnoid or ± glabrous, finely short-ciliate.

red to reddish purple, 30–45 mm, tubes 10–20 mm, throats 10–16 mm, lobes 9–11 mm;

style tips 3.5–5 mm.

lavender-pink, 20–26 mm, tubes 5–8.5 mm, throats 5.2–8 mm, lobes linear, 9–10 mm;

style tips 3.5–4.2 mm, conspicuously exserted beyond corolla lobes.

in 6–8 series, imbricate, outer green, inner purple to red, linear-lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), abaxial faces without glutinous ridge;

outer and mid bodies short, appressed, entire or spinulose-ciliate, apices long-spreading to ascending, entire or spinulose-ciliate or rarely with expanded, fringed appendages, spines straight, weak, 1–3 mm;

apices of inner red to purple, straight or rarely twisted, long, flat, entire.

in 5–7 series, unequal, outer longer than inner, bases short-appressed, abaxial faces without glutinous ridge, minutely scabridulous, apices green, thick, spreading to curved-ascending, proximally flattened, linear, spines stout, 5–12 mm;

outer entire or pinnately spiny, inner entire, scabridulous-ciliolate;

apices of inner flexuous, sometimes slightly expanded and minutely erose.

1–6, borne singly or in corymbiform, racemiform, or spiciform arrays.

several–many, erect or nodding, usually sessile or short-pedunculate, crowded in subcaptitate or short, spiciform clusters at branch tips, collectively forming open, paniculiform arrays.

brown, 6–7 mm, apical collars narrow;

pappi 25–40 mm.

dark brown, 4.5–5 mm, apical collars not differeniated;

pappi ca. 20 mm.

= 32, 64.