Flora of North America species comparison

1–5+, sparsely to moderately short strigose or villous.

1–10+, usually blue to purple, glaucous, arching, straight, usually simple, occasionally with 2–3(–4) elongated lateral branches, glabrous or slightly strigose in arrays.

basal withering by flowering, petiolate, smaller to much smaller than cauline, blades oblanceolate, margins serrate;

cauline sessile, blades elliptic-lanceolate or -oblanceolate, mid 80–140 × 2.5–4 mm, distally reduced, usually membranous, bases tapering, attenuate, margins sharply toothed along much of length to nearly entire, ciliate, abaxial faces short-pilose along small and large nerves, adaxial short-pilose along larger nerves.

basal withering by flowering;

proximal to mid cauline sessile, blades lanceolate, (47–)70–100(–150) × 8–20(–30) mm, margins serrate (with 0–24 teeth per side), apices acuminate, faces abaxially glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxially sparsely hairy;

distal sessile, blades narrowly lanceolate, (20–)40–70(–100) × (3.4–)5.6–11(–17) mm, margins entire to slightly serrate, faces glabrous or sparsely hairy.

1–6 mm, moderately canescent;

bracteoles linear to lanceolate.

2–10 mm, sparsely to moderately strigose;

bracteoles linear, 1–8.

campanulate, 4.5–5.5 mm.

narrowly campanulate, (3.5–)4.8–6(–7.2) mm.

6–8;

laminae 3–4 × 1–1.5 mm wide.

1–6;

laminae (1.5–)2–3(–4) × ca. 1 mm.

8–14;

corollas 4–5 mm, lobes ca. 1.5 mm.

3–6(–9);

corollas 2–3(–4) mm, lobes (0.5–)1–1.5(–2) mm.

in ca. 3 series, strongly unequal, erect to slightly squarrose-tipped, lanceolate, apices acute, glabrate, sparsely to moderately, finely stipitate-glandular.

in ca. 3 series, unequal, outermost lanceolate (1–1.7 mm), acute, innermost linear-oblong (2.3–4 mm), 1-nerved, obtuse to acute.

5–160 (2–10+ more per short branch cluster), in narrowly elongate paniculiform arrays, branches usually 1–6 cm (much longer in damaged plants, sometimes 1–3 proximal branches much elongated in undamaged plants), ascending and bearing short terminal racemiform or paniculiform clusters.

9–380, in short, secund, axillary and terminal racemo-paniculiform clusters (4.4–)13–36(–58) cm.

(reddish brown) 2–3 mm, glabrous;

pappi 4–5 mm.

1–2(–2.5) mm, moderately to densely strigose;

pappi 2–3(–3.7) mm.