Flora of North America species comparison

erect, densely and loosely gray-white tomentose-arachnose.

erect to decumbent-ascending, loosely arachnose-tomentose.

basal and cauline, basal mostly withering before flowering, blades oblanceolate, 1–3 cm × 2–6 mm (usually folded along midveins, bases subclasping, not auriculate; nearly unreduced among proximal heads, none longer than glomerules), faces concolor, tomentose-arachnose.

basal and cauline, basal usually withering before flowering, blades spatulate to oblanceolate, narrowly lanceolate, linear-oblanceolate, or linear, 2–3(–4) cm × 2–3.5(–5) mm (distal rarely folded along midveins), faces concolor, loosely tomentose.

campanulate, 3.5–4 mm, bases sparsely tomentose.

campanulate, 2.5–3 mm, bases sparsely arachnose.

bisexual 2–4; all corollas yellowish.

bisexual 3–5; all corollas usually purple distally.

in 4–5 series, outer narrowly ovate-triangular, lengths ca. 1/3 inner, apices acute to acute-acuminate, inner oblong, laminae tan to brownish (not purple), apices (brownish) rounded-apiculate.

in 3–4(–5) series, outer ovate-lanceolate, lengths 1/2–2/3 inner, apices (sometimes purplish-tinged) narrowly to broadly acute, inner usually purple (immediately beyond stereome and along proximal margins), oblong, laminae usually purple (at stereome and along proximal margins), apices (whitish, tinged with brown) rounded-obtuse.

in continuous cylindric arrays 2–3(–4) cm × 10–12 mm (pressed).

initially in uninterrupted, cylindro-spiciform arrays (1–)3–4(–10) cm × 8–12 mm (pressed), usually becoming glomerulate-interrupted in late flowering (equally leafy-bracted throughout, bracts linear to narrowly lanceolate, smaller distally).

not seen.

(tan) 0.4–0.5 mm.