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.

usually 1, erect, stout, ± fleshy, simple, very leafy, densely villous or tomentose with septate trichomes.

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.

blades linear-oblong to oblanceolate (elliptic), 5–20(–25) × 1–4(–7) cm, subentire to dentate or pinnatifid, lobes lance-oblong to triangular, spinulose to spiny-dentate or shallowly lobed, main spines slender, 2–5(–10) mm, abaxial faces often thinly gray- or white-tomentose with felted arachnoid trichomes, ± villous along major veins with septate trichomes, adaxial green, glabrous to thinly arachnoid, often ± villous with septate trichomes;

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

principal cauline well distributed, proximally winged-petiolate, distally sessile, not or only slightly reduced;

distal often narrower than proximal.

0–1 cm.

0–1 cm.

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

broadly ovoid, 2–2.5 × 1.5–2 cm, green, glabrous to densely villous with septate trichomes on margins.

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.

white to pale pink, 21–25 mm, tubes 12–14 mm, throats (very slender, scarcely larger than tubes) 6–7 mm, lobes 3–4 mm;

style tips 2.5–3 mm, short exserted.

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.

in 4–6 series, imbricate, lanceolate or ovate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner), bases appressed, margins of outer entire, abaxial faces without glutinous ridge, apices appressed to ascending, spines straight, slender, 2–3 mm;

apices of inner erect, straight.

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

few–many, erect, sessile or subsessile, crowded in dense, woolly, leafy-bracted, subcapitate arrays, closely subtended and overtopped by crowded leafy bracts.

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

pappi 20–25 mm.

light brown, 4–5.5 mm, apical collars yellow, narrow;

pappi 23–29 mm, exceeding corollas.

= 34.