Flora of North America species comparison

1–5+, erect (light brown to grayish brown), densely hispidulo-hirsute.

1–3+, ascending to erect (straight, slender, reddish), sparsely to densely pilosulous to hirtellous, proximally glabrescent.

light green, thin to firm;

basal withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 10–40 × 3–10 mm, attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, piloso-ciliate, apices obtuse, rounded to mucronulate, faces sparsely to moderately strigose;

proximal cauline sometimes persistent by flowering, sessile, blades linear or oblong to elliptic-oblanceolate, 40–60 × 3–10 mm, bases rounded or slightly clasping, margins entire, scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, faces ± copiously hirsute;

distal sessile, blades oblanceolate, 15–45 × 2–3(–4.5) mm, progressively reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, white-spine-tipped, faces sparsely strigose.

thin, margins strigoso-ciliate to scabrous, apices mucronulate, abaxial faces glabrate to sparsely pilose and midveins ± pilose to glabrate, adaxial glabrous or glabrate to pilosulous or hirsutulous;

basal withering by flowering, subpetiolate, blades oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate or spatulate, 10–40 × 3–7 mm, bases cuneate, sheathing, margins sparsely serrate apically, apices obtuse, mucronate, faces sparsely pilose;

proximal cauline usually withering by flowering, sessile or subsessile (often with axillary clusters of small leaves), blades oblanceolate to lanceolate, 40–80 × 2–5 mm, bases cuneate, margins entire or serrulate apically;

distal sessile, blades linear to subulate, 4–100 × 1–6 mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire to weakly serrulate, faces glabrate or glabrous.

hispid, bracts 1–3+, oblong-lanceolate, 3–5 mm, not grading into phyllaries.

3–20(–40) mm, glabrate or glabrous, bracts 3–6+, appressed or ascending, linear to subulate, 2–4 mm, scabrous, aristate, glabrous, grading into phyllaries.

campanulate to hemispheric, 4–6 mm.

cylindric to cylindro-campanulate, (2.7–)3.1–4.1(–4.9) × ± 3 mm.

20–35;

corollas azure blue to violet or lavender, laminae 5–10 × 0.6–1.2 mm.

(9–)11–17(–23);

corollas usually white, seldom pink, laminae (3.7–)5–5.5(–7.3) × 0.6–1.3 mm.

20–30+;

corollas light yellow turning pinkish to purple, 3–4 mm, tubes ca. 1/2 narrowly funnelform throats, lobes triangular, 0.5–0.7 mm, glabrous.

5–16(–28);

corollas pale yellow becoming purplish, (2.3–)2.5–3.3(–3.7) mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.4–0.8 (ratio 0.25) mm.

in 3–5 series, linear-lanceolate, ± unequal to subequal, bases ± indurate, margins hyaline proximally, outer distally hispido-scabrous, green zones diamond-shaped, restricted to distal 1/2–1/4, apices (outer) spreading to reflexed, acute, subspinulose, (inner) acuminate, purplish, faces (outer) scabroso-puberulent or strigose, eglandular, inner distally stipitate-glandular.

in 3–5 series, appressed, subulate (outermost) to oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate (inner) or linear (innermost), unequal, bases indurate 1/2–3/4, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, sparsely ciliolate or not, green zones lanceolate, apices slightly spreading, often purplish, often involute, acute to acuminate or cuspidate, sometimes aristate, faces usually glabrous, sometimes glabrate.

in ample, leafy, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending, sometimes secund (heads often crowded).

in narrow or wide, pyramidal, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending or arching, secondary branches (10 cm or less) secund and erect, densely leafy, heads crowded, sparsely to moderately pilose.

dull purple or brown, obovoid, not compressed, 1.5–2 mm, 7–9-nerved, faces densely sericeous;

pappi tan to tawny, sometimes rose to violet-tinged, 3.5–5.5 mm.

whitish or gray, obovoid, compressed, 0.8–1.5 × 0.4–0.6 mm, 3–4-nerved, faces sparsely to moderately strigillose;

pappi white, 3–4 mm.

= 10.

= 16, 32, 48.