Flora of North America species comparison

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

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 (rosettes) usually withering by flowering;

petiole bases or vasculature not persisting on rhizomes;

proximalmost cauline petiolate, sometimes present at flowering;

proximal and distal sometimes 3-nerved.

1–6 mm, moderately canescent;

bracteoles linear to lanceolate.

campanulate, 4.5–5.5 mm.

6–8;

laminae 3–4 × 1–1.5 mm wide.

8–14;

corollas 4–5 mm, lobes ca. 1.5 mm.

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

1-nerved, usually not striate (3–5-nerved and striate in S. glomerata, S. lancifolia, S. roanensis) sometimes minutely stipitate-glandular, sometimes resinous.

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.

in ± paniculiform or thyrsiform arrays (wand-, club-, or secund cone-shaped) or in axillary clusters, sometimes in rounded corymbiform arrays.

(reddish brown) 2–3 mm, glabrous;

pappi 4–5 mm.

bristles in 2–3 series (shorter, outer setiform scales rarely present, outer, longer bristles apically attenuate, inner bristles longest, weakly to strongly clavate).