Flora of North America species comparison

5–30+, horizontal or hanging from cliff sides, thinly appressed gray-tomentose and villous with septate trichomes;

branches 0–few, distal, ascending.

blades oblong-elliptic to oblanceolate, 5–30 × 1–5 cm, shallowly to deeply pinnatifid, lobes spreading, triangular, coarsely dentate or lobed, obtuse to acute, main spines slender, 4–10 mm, abaxial faces green or gray-tomentose, villous with septate trichomes along midveins, ± glabrate, adaxial green and glabrous or thinly tomentose, ± glabrate;

basal often present at flowering, spiny winged-petiolate;

principal cauline sessile, gradually reduced distally;

distal oblong, bases ± clasping, usually less deeply lobed and often spinier than proximal.

0–1 cm.

cylindric to narrowly campanulate, 3.5–4.5 × 1.5–2 cm, loosely arachnoid, glabrate, finely short-ciliate.

red to reddish purple, 26–27 mm, tubes 3.5–5 mm, throats 7.5–9.5 mm, lobes 12–14 mm;

style tips ca. 3 mm.

in 5–6 series, imbricate, linear-lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), entire, abaxial faces without glutinous ridge, apices red to reddish purple, stiffly ascending, long-acuminate, spines straight, 1–10 mm, ± flattened;

apices of inner stramineous to red, straight or flexuous.

1–6+, borne singly or in condensed corymbiform arrays.

stramineous, 5–6 mm, apical collars not differentiated;

pappi 20–25 mm.