Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect to decumbent-ascending, not pannose (indument whitish, like closely appressed, polished cloth, hairs usually not individually evident).

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 present through flowering, blades oblanceolate to oblanceolate-spatulate, 2–6(–7) cm × 5–13 mm (gradually smaller, becoming linear bracts distally), faces bicolor, abaxial closely white-pannose, adaxial sparsely arachnose (light green, hairs persistent, closely appressed, nearly microscopic).

campanulate, 3.5–4 mm, bases sparsely tomentose.

cylindro-campanulate, 3.5–4 mm, bases sparsely arachnose.

bisexual 2–4; all corollas yellowish.

bisexual 2–4; all corollas brownish yellow to purple distally (sometimes purple only on adaxial faces of lobes in bisexual corollas).

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 4–5 series, outer ovate, lengths 1/3 inner, apices acute to acute-acuminate, inner oblong-lanceolate, laminae (± striate) purplish (at stereome and on distal margins or not at all), apices acute to acute-acuminate (not apiculate, slightly flaring outward in fruit).

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

initially in ± continuous, cylindric arrays 3–5(–7) cm × 10–12 mm (pressed), later sometimes interrupted and 7–20 cm (producing axillary glomerules from proximal nodes).

not seen.

(purple) 0.5–0.6 mm.