Flora of North America species comparison

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

1–several, erect, loosely arachnoid-tomentose, glandular-pilose;

branches several to many, spreading.

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 oblanceolate to oblong or elliptic, 20–70 × 5–16 cm, strongly undulate, shallowly to deeply pinnatifid, lobes coarsely toothed or with triangular secondary lobes, main spines 3–15 mm, abaxial faces more densely tomentose, adaxial densely glandular with short, multicellular trichomes and ± tomentose with fine, arachnoid, non-septate trichomes;

basal often present at flowering, petiolate;

principal cauline well distributed, becoming sessile, gradually reduced distally, bases auriculate-decurrent with broad, spiny-margined wings 3 cm or less;

distal cauline leaves progressively reduced, ± bractlike.

1–6 cm.

0–7 cm.

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

(green to purple), hemispheric or campanulate, 1.5–3 × 2–5 cm, glabrous or puberulent.

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 pinkish or lavender, 14.5–22 mm, tubes 5–8 mm, throats 4.5–9 mm, lobes 3–8 mm;

style tips 2.5–4.5 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 6–10 series, imbricate, ovate to lanceolate, abaxial faces without glutinous ridge;

outer and mid bases appressed, short, bodies entire to erose or ciliolate (rarely outer spine-margined), apices spreading to recurved or reflexed, long, dilated, adaxially puberulent, spines 1–6 mm;

apices of inner erect or reflexed, flattened or tipped with short spines.

few–many in corymbiform or paniculiform arrays.

few–many, ± nodding, in paniculiform or corymbiform arrays, bracts leafy or much reduced.

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

pappi 20–30 mm.

brownish, 3.4–5 mm, apical collars tan;

pappi 12–15 mm.

perennials, 50–220 cm; woody tap-rooted caudices with numerous coarse, fibrous lateral roots, sometimes forming new rosettes from root sprouts.

= 68.