Flora of North America species comparison

1–many, erect or ascending, branches few–many, ascending, villous with septate trichomes.

1–several, erect, simple or sparingly branched in distal 1/2, glabrous or thinly arachnoid and sparingly villous with jointed trichomes.

blades oblong-lanceolate to obovate, 15–40 × 6–15 cm, margins plane or revolute, coarsely 1–2-pinnatifid with rigidly divergent lobes, sometimes merely spinose-dentate, lobes triangular to lanceolate, entire to spiny-dentate, main spines 2–10 mm, abaxial faces gray-tomentose, villous with septate trichomes along veins, adaxial green, covered with short appressed bristlelike spines, sometimes tomentose when young;

basal present or absent at flowering, petioles winged, bases tapered;

principal cauline winged-petiolate, mid and distal becoming sessile, well distributed or not, progressively reduced distally, at least distal decurrent as long spiny wings;

distal cauline often more deeply lobed than proximal, main lobes rigidly spiny, margins spinulose, otherwise entire.

blades oblong to elliptic or oblanceolate, 15–30+ × 2–7 cm, deeply 2–3-pinnately divided, lobes linear to linear-lanceolate, spinulose to spiny-dentate or shallowly lobed, main spines slender, 2–8 mm, abaxial faces glabrous to thinly tomentose and villous along major veins, soon glabrescent, adaxial glabrous;

basal present at flowering, narrowly spiny winged-petiolate;

principal cauline well distributed, proximal winged-petiolate, mid and distal sessile, gradually reduced, bases decurrent as spiny wings 1–3 cm;

distalmost reduced to spiny-pectinate bracts.

1–6 cm.

0–4 cm.

hemispheric to campanulate, 3–4 × 2–4 cm, loosely arachnoid-tomentose.

ovoid, 1.8–2.5 cm, 1.5–2.5 cm diam., loosely arachnoid, glabrate.

purple (rarely white), 25–35 mm, tubes 18–25 mm, throats 5–6 mm, lobes 5–7 mm;

style tips 3.5–6 mm.

white to pink or pink-purple, 16–20 mm, tubes 6–8 mm, throats 5–6 mm, lobes 5–7 mm;

style tips 3.5–4.5 mm.

in 10–12 series, strongly imbricate, linear-lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), outer and middle appressed, (bases stramineous), margins entire, abaxial faces without glutinous ridge, apices radiating, greenish, spines 2–5 mm;

apices of inner phyllaries flat, serrulate to minutely erose.

in 5–6 series, imbricate, green, linear-lanceolate, abaxial faces without or with poorly developed glutinous ridge;

outer and mid bases appressed, apices stiffly radiating to ascending, long, very narrow, entire, spines slender, 3–10 mm;

apices of inner straight, flexuous.

few–many in corymbiform or paniculiform arrays.

1–few, erect, ± crowded in corymbiform arrays.

light brown with darker streaks, 3–4.5 mm, apical collar not differentiated;

pappi 20–30 mm.

brown, ca. 4 mm, apical collars not differentiated;

pappi 13–17 mm.

= 68.