Flora of North America species comparison

erect or strongly ascending, leafy mostly in proximal 2/3 of plant, openly forked distally, 5–12 dm, pubescent basally with minute curved hairs in 2 lines, spreading glandular-pilose distally.

decumbent, ascending, or erect, sparsely leafy with few stems to very leafy and bushy branched, leafy primarily in proximal 1/5 to throughout, 1–1.3 dm, basally minutely puberulent in 2 lines, sparsely or densely spreading-hirsute, or rarely glabrate or glabrous; distally minutely puberulent in 2 lines, sparsely or densely spreading-hirsute, or rarely glabrate or glabrous, usually glandular-puberulent or pubescent in inflorescence.

ascending at 10–60°, progressively reduced toward infloresence;

petiole 0.8–3 cm;

blade bright green, narrowly triangular-ovate to ovate, 3–10 × 0.8–4 cm, ± thin, base acute, obtuse, truncate, or cordate, apex acute to attenuate, or obtuse, often rounded at tip, surfaces glabrous or rarely puberulent.

strongly ascending to spreading at 5–80°;

petiole 0–1.5 cm;

blade green to blue-gray and glaucous, linear to linear-lanceolate, rarely lanceolate, 3–11.5 × 0.1–1(–1.8) cm, thin to fleshy, thick, and succulent, base long attenuate or narrowly acute, apex acutely tapered to rounded, surfaces glabrous, glandular-pubescent, or hirsute.

axillary and terminal, few branched, ± evenly forked and open;

peduncle 2–9 mm, spreading glandular-villous, crosswalls of hairs dark purple or black;

involucres blushed with dark violet or black, at least in median region, widely bell-shaped, 3–6 mm in flower, 4–7 mm in fruit, spreading viscid-villous, 40–50% connate, lobes oblong to ovate, apex broadly acute.

axillary and terminal, when axillary, consisting of single involucres or short branches, when terminal with ± well-defined central axis and shorter side branches, or narrowly to widely forked without main axis;

peduncle 3–10 mm, usually spreading glandular-puberulent or pilose, crosswalls of hairs pale or dark;

involucres pale green, sometimes tinged with purple, narrowly to widely bell-shaped, 3–6 mm in flower, 4–10(–15) mm in fruit, spreading viscid-pubescent to hirsute, 40–70% connate, lobes ovate.

3 per involucre;

perianth bright purple-pink, 0.9–1.2 cm.

3 per involucre;

perianth white to purple-pink, 0.7–1.1 cm.

dark grayish to blackish brown, sometimes dark, dull, reddish brown, narrowly obovoid, 3–4 mm, spreading-pilose, hairs often apearing loosely shaggy and somewhat tufted, (0.1–)0.2–0.3 mm;

ribs ± same color as sulci, low and round, 0.7–1 times width of sulci, 0.5 times as wide as high, slightly rugose or warty;

sulci almost smooth to slightly rugose or with very low tubercules.

olive brown or dark olive brown, narrowly obovate and tapering at both ends to obovoid, 3.1–5.5 mm, pubescent with spreading crinkled hairs in tufts or ± evenly distributed, hairs 0.1–0.5 mm;

ribs sometimes slightly paler, slightly elevated above surface (usually less than 0.5 times as wide as high), low rounded to round-angled, 0.5–1 times width of sulci, 0.3–1 times as wide as high, smooth throughout or sometimes rugose on sides, occasionally interrupted and tuberculate near apex;

sulci with small or rarely large tubercles, or low and inconspicuous or occasionally high and prominently cross-rugose.