Flora of North America species comparison

1–3+, erect, coarse, villous.

1, erect, seldom branched proximally, stout, proximally glabrate to villous and sparsely glandular (sometimes to base), distally glabrate, strongly glandular.

strongly basal and cauline, coriaceous, margins indurate, entire to remotely spinose-serrate, remotely and obscurely scabridulous, spines indurate-margined or wholly indurate, finely parallel-veined with evident midnerves, apices acute, revolute, indurate, abaxial faces glabrous;

basal and proximal cauline persistent (bases ± marcescent when leaves deciduous), petioles scarcely distinct, blades linear (grasslike), 70–350 × 3–8 mm, adaxial faces glabrous;

cauline sessile, blades linear to lance-linear, 15–130 × 1.5–7 mm, progressively reduced and more spinose distally, adaxial faces progressively more villous distally.

cauline, thick, ample, bases clasping, margins ± revolute, sharply serrate (rarely subentire) with ± mucronate teeth, veins prominent, apices acute to acuminate, mucronate, faces scabrous, adaxial veins villous;

proximal cauline deciduous by flowering, winged-subpetiolate to sessile, blades oblanceolate to ovate or obovate, smaller than mid, bases tapering;

mid usually sessile, sometimes subsessile, obovate or elliptic, (40–)58–140(–180) × (8–)20–50(–80) mm, bases cuneate to mostly rounded-subauriculate;

distal (in arrays) sessile, ovate to oblanceolate, lanceolate, or elliptic, (8–)10–60(–90) × 2–28(–40) mm, strongly reduced distally.

± densely villous, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular distally;

bracts 0–7, appressed, lanceolate, bases ± indurate, margins spinose, adaxial faces villous.

sometimes sparsely hairy, stipitate-glandular;

bracts usually 0, sometimes 1–3.

campanulo-hemispheric, 9–12 mm, slightly shorter than pappi.

campanulate, 9–12 mm, shorter than pappi.

25–60;

corollas white or pinkish, coiling, 10–20 × 1–2.1 mm.

12–35;

corollas blue or violet, (8–)10–15 × 1.2–2 mm.

115–260;

corollas yellow, 5.5–7 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes shorter than tubular throats, lobes 0.75–1 mm, erect, lanceolate.

48–55;

corollas yellow, 9–10 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes narrowly cylindric, slightly longer than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes erect, lanceolate, 0.7–1.3 mm.

70–140 in 4–5 series, greenish, densely thick-nerved, lanceolate to linear (innermost), unequal, coriaceous, bases indurate and rounded (outer), margins entire, indurate or ± scarious, erose (inner), sometimes sparsely villoso-ciliate, ± densely stipitate-glandular, apices squarrose, green and often purplish-tinged, foliaceous, long-acuminate, adaxial faces villosulous, rarely also sparsely stipitate-glandular.

34–55 in 4–5 series, midnerves translucent, strongly unequal, membranous, bases indurate, dark green distally, margins densely ciliate, apices spreading or ± squarrose, purple (mucro), acute or acuminate (sometimes mucronate), faces glabrous, densely stipitate-glandular;

outer ovate or lanceolate;

inner oblong-lanceolate, margins hyaline, often purplish distally, scarious.

1–11+, borne singly or in racemiform arrays, branches ascending to erect, stiff.

5–50 in open corymbiform arrays.

straw-colored, ellipsoid to obovoid, 2–3.5 mm, ribs 11–13 prominent, glabrous;

pappi of (ca. 35) orangish tan (coarse, sometimes clavellate) bristles 7.8–8.2 mm, slightly longer than disc corollas.

tan, fusiform, ± compressed, 3–4 mm, ribs 8–10, appressed-setose;

pappi of cinnamon to pinkish bristles 9–10 mm, about as long as disc corollas.

= ca. 108, ca. 122.