Flora of North America species comparison

stout, erect, loosely arachnoid with fine trichomes and villous with jointed trichomes; branching unknown.

usually 1, erect, ± gray-tomentose, sometimes villous with septate trichomes;

branches 0–10+, usually arising in distal 1/2, ascending, usually reaching a ± common height.

blades elliptic to oblanceolate, 15–30+ × 6–8+ cm, divided halfway or more to midveins, lobes linear-lanceolate, rigidly spreading, entire or trifid, acuminate, main spines stout, 5–15 mm, abaxial faces tomentose with fine, non-septate trichomes, villous along major veins with septate trichomes, adaxial glabrescent or sparsely tomentose, villous along veins;

basal not observed;

cauline well distributed, distally not much reduced, sessile, bases clasping, not decurrent.

blades linear-oblong to oblanceolate or elliptic, 10–30 × 3–7 cm, shallowly to deeply pinnatifid with 3–8 pairs of lobes, longer than 2 cm, lobes well separated, linear to triangular-ovate, dentate to lobed proximally, main spines slender, 2–7 mm, faces green to gray, thinly to densely arachnoid-tomentose with fine, non-septate trichomes, sometimes villous with septate trichomes along veins, usually ± loose and irregularly deciduous from leaves in age;

basal often present at flowering, sessile or winged-petiolate;

principal cauline mostly in proximal 1/2, winged-petiolate or sessile, bases narrowed, auriculate, veins often prominently raised on abaxial faces;

distal sessile, auriculate-clasping or short-decurrent 1–10 mm, progressively reduced becoming bractlike, often unlobed or less deeply divided and sometimes spinier than proximal.

0–1 cm.

(0–)2–15 cm.

hemispheric to broadly campanulate, 3–4 × 4–5+ cm, arachnoid.

ovoid to hemispheric or campanulate, 2–3 × 1.5–3.5 cm, ± arachnoid-floccose, often glabrate.

white, 30–33 mm, tubes 16 mm, throats 9–12 mm, lobes 5.5–9 mm;

style tips 6 mm.

creamy white to purplish, 20–31 mm, tubes 8–14 mm, throats 5.5–10 mm, lobes 6–7 mm;

style tips 4–6 mm.

in 6–8 series, narrowly lanceolate to linear, outer subequal, rigidly spreading, spines 5–10 mm, inner ± imbricate, bodies appressed, glutinous ridge absent, apices spreading, margins spinulose or scabrid, apices of mid and inner flattened, spineless, scabrid.

in 8–10 series, subequal to strongly imbricate, green, linear to lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), entire, abaxial faces with inconspicuous to prominent glutinous ridge;

outer and mid bodies loosely spreading to ascending or appressed, apices subappressed to ascending or spreading, flat, spines ascending to spreading, fine, 2–4 mm;

apices of inner commonly flexuous or reflexed, narrow, flat, scarious.

1–5, terminal and in distal axils in spiciform arrays.

borne singly, terminal on main stem and branches, sometimes also in distal axils, erect, not subtended by well-developed leaves, collectively forming corymbiform or racemiform arrays.

light brown, 6 mm, collars also light brown, ca. 0.75 mm;

pappi 25–33 mm.

tan to dark brown, 5–7.5 mm, apical collars not differentiated;

pappi 16–25 mm.