Flora of North America species comparison

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

usually 1, erect, less commonly several, ascending, simple to sparingly short-branched in distal 1/2, less commonly openly branched, villous with jointed trichomes;

branches on distal stems 0–many, short, ascending.

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 to oblong or elliptic, 10–30+ × 1–10 cm, margins flat to undulate, subentire to coarsely dentate or shallowly to deeply pinnatifid, lobes lance-oblong to broadly triangular, spinulose to spiny-dentate or shallowly lobed, main spines 3–12 mm, abaxial faces green and subglabrous to gray- or white-tomentose with felted arachnoid trichomes, ± villous to tomentose along major veins with septate trichomes, rarely glabrous or glabrate, adaxial ± green, glabrous or villous with septate trichomes;

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

principal cauline well distributed, proximally winged-petiolate, distally sessile, gradually reduced, bases sometimes short-decurrent (0–2 cm);

distal ± reduced, often narrower than the proximal, sometimes with non-pigmented bases.

0–1 cm.

0–15+ cm.

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

(green), broadly ovoid, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2.5 cm, loosely villous with septate trichomes, sparingly if at all arachnoid.

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

style tips 6 mm.

white, ochroleucous, 19–23 mm, tubes 6.5–8.5 mm, throats 7.5–11 mm, lobes 4–5 mm;

style tips 4–5.5 mm, conspicuously exserted.

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 4–8 series, subequal, ± lanceolate, bases appressed, apices ascending, linear to broadly expanded, erose to lacerate or spiny-fringed, spines straight, slender, 2–3 mm, abaxial faces with or without narrow glutinous ridge;

apices of inner flexuous, sometimes expanded and erose.

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

several–many, erect, usually in racemiform or spiciform arrays, usually closely subtended by clustered ± leafy bracts.

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

pappi 25–33 mm.

brown, 5.5–6.5 mm, apical collars not differentiated;

pappi 17–20 mm.

= 34.