Flora of North America species comparison

single, erect, ± arachnoid-tomentose;

branches 0 or few, ascending.

usually 1, erect, thinly arachnoid-tomentose, sparsely pilose distally with short, jointed trichomes;

branches few to many, often arising from proximal nodes, ascending.

oblong to broadly lanceolate, 20–40 × 4–8 cm, finely spinulose-dentate or proximal cauline pinnatifid, lobes undivided, finely spinulose-dentate, main spines 1–2 mm, abaxial faces white-tomentose (with non-septate trichomes), adaxial glabrous;

basal present at flowering, petiolate, bases tapered;

cauline sessile, reduced distally, bases clasping, not decurrent;

distal (few, well separated), oblong or linear, the uppermost reduced to linear bracts.

blades oblong to elliptic, 15–30 × 2–6 cm, often unlobed and merely spinulose or spiny-dentate, sometimes pinnatifid ca. halfway to midveins, lobes separated by broad sinuses, undivided to coarsely few-dentate, main spines slender, 2–5(–10) mm, abaxial faces ± persistently thinly gray-tomentose, adaxial green, glabrous to thinly tomentose, sometimes sparsely pilose on midveins;

basal sometimes present at flowering, sessile or short winged-petiolate;

principal cauline sessile, progressively reduced, becoming bractlike distally, mid and distal bases broadly clasping;

distal reduced to linear or lanceolate bracts.

2–10(–30) cm (elevated above distal leaves).

(0–)3–20 cm.

broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 2–3.5 cm, glabrous or loosely arachnoid.

hemispheric to subspheric, 1.3–2.5 × (1–)1.5–2.5 cm, glabrous to loosely floccose.

red-purple, 25–30 mm, tubes 10–23 mm, throats 8–14 mm (noticeably wider than tubes), lobes 7–10 mm;

style tips 4–5 mm.

lavender to reddish purple, (16–)19–22 mm, tubes 6–9 mm, throats 5–8 mm, lobes 5–7 mm, style tips 5–6 mm.

in 8–10 series, imbricate, green, ovate or lanceolate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner), abaxial faces with a prominent elongate glutinous ridge, outer and middle tightly appressed, margins entire, apices with ascending, weak spines 0–1 mm;

apices of inner phyllaries attenuate, flat.

in 5–8(–10) series, strongly imbricate, green with darker green to brown subapical patch, broadly ovate or oblong (outer) to lanceolate (inner), abaxial faces with prominent to obscure glutinous ridge;

outer and middle appressed, spines or terminal appendages spreading to reflexed, bodies entire or with expanded, ± scarious, ± pectinately fringed terminal appendages, tips merely mucronate or with weak spines spreading to reflexed, 1–3 mm;

apices of inner often flexuous, flat, scarious, serrulate to expanded and pectinately fringed.

borne singly or less commonly 2–5 in terminal clusters.

few–many, in ± openly branched corymbiform or paniculiform arrays;

not closely subtended by clustered leafy bracts.

light brown, 3–5 mm, bodies and apical collars concolorous;

pappi 20–30 mm.

dark brown, 4–5 mm, apical collars stramineous or not differently colored, very narrow;

pappi 15–17 mm.

= 34.