Flora of North America species comparison

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.

1–3, terete, shallowly multicostate, glabrous, sparsely to moderately hirtellous distally (arrays).

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.

basal and proximal cauline winged-petiolate;

blades mostly spatulate to oblanceolate, 100–150 × 15–32 mm, tapering, margins distally coarsely but shallowly serrate, apices acute to narrowly rounded, often narrowed to short, often brown callused tips;

mid to distal cauline progressively more narrowly oblanceolate and acute, then to elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic, 35–60 × 6–10 mm, reduced distally, grading into widely ascending to spreading or reflexed bracts;

faces abaxially pale, midnerves raised, deep green, level reticulum of branch nerves, margins entire, ciliate, adaxially deep green with only impressed midnerve evident.

2–10 mm, sparsely to moderately strigose;

bracteoles linear, 1–8.

stiffly, widely ascending, angulate, slightly compressed, stubby-bracteolate;

bracts grading into phyllaries, sparsely hirtellous.

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

turbinate, 8–12 mm.

1–6;

laminae (1.5–)2–3(–4) × ca. 1 mm.

6–10;

laminae 3–4 mm.

3–6(–9);

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

11–14;

corollas 6 mm, lobes ca. 2 mm.

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

(in 3–4 series) 1–1.3 mm wide, unequal, pilose-ciliate;

outer mostly green, oblong, blunt, inner spatulate or linear-oblanceolate.

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

10–50 (1–5+ per branch), in racemiform or narrowly paniculiform arrays, mostly with primary branches widely to narrowly ascending, proximalmost usually longest.

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

pappi 2–3(–3.7) mm.

cylindric to somewhat compressed-obconic, 1.5–4 mm, typically 5-ribbed, glabrous, abruptly narrowed to short “neck” surmounted by narrow, brownish pappus disc;

pappi (white) 3–4 mm.

= 36.