Flora of North America species comparison

1–5+, erect or ascending (straight, often stout), proximally usually ± densely hirtellous, sometimes glabrescent, distally hirsute.

usually not brittle at maturity, usually proximally glabrous or glabrate and distally hairy in lines, sometimes ± uniformly hairy, sometimes glabrous distally.

thick, firm, margins (slightly undulate) scabrous, adaxial faces glabrous or strigose, scabrous, adaxial ± sparsely hirsute to scabro-hirtellous, sometimes ± scabrous (cauline sometimes with tufts of smaller leaves in axils);

basal withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles sometimes narrowly winged), blades oblong-ovate to lanceolate, 10–40 × 10–20 mm, bases deeply cordate, margins sparsely serrate to serrulate, apices usually acute, sometimes obtuse to rounded;

proximal cauline usually withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles slender to ± winged), blades ovate to broadly lanceolate, 40–90 × (15–) 25–50 mm, bases shallowly cordate or rounded to attenuate, rarely truncate, margins subentire or entire (rarely serrulate), apices acute or acuminate, with short callus point;

distal subpetiolate or sessile, blades ovate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 10–70 × 1–10 mm, gradually or abruptly reduced distally, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins entire, apices acute to acuminate.

basal usually withering by flowering, usually petiolate, sometimes sessile or subsessile, blades 1-nerved, spatulate to oblanceolate, elliptic, or ovate to cordate, margins coarsely serrate to crenate or entire;

cauline petiolate or sessile, blades widely ovate to linear, bases cordate or subcordate, rounded, cuneate, or attenuate, sometimes auriculate and ± clasping.

densely bracteate, 0.3–5(–10) cm (rarely subsesssile), bracts numerous, linear, 2–6 mm, mucronulate, grading into phyllaries.

campanulate, 5–10 mm.

18–45;

corollas usually bright lavender-blue to purple, seldom white, laminae 9–15(–18) × 1–3.2 mm.

33–40+;

corollas cream or light yellow turning pinkish purple, (4–)4.5–5.5 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes sometimes ± spreading, triangular to lanceolate, 0.5–0.8 mm.

± ampliate, throats usually ± narrowly funnelform, sometimes cylindric or funnelform-campanulate, lobes usually erect, sometimes spreading, recurved, or reflexed.

in 4–6 series, oblong-lanceolate (outer) to oblanceolate-linear (innermost), unequal, bases indurate (appressed), margins ciliate to scabro-ciliate, green zones diamond-shaped to lanceolate, ± foliaceous distally, apices reflexed to squarrose, long-acuminate, apiculate, often purple, faces strigoso-hirtellous.

strongly unequal to subequal, outer sometimes ± foliaceous, green zones usually diamond-shaped to lanceolate, apices sometimes foliaceous.

in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches divaricate, stout, long, densely bracteate.

radiate or disciform.

deep purple to purplish brown or brown with purple speckles (nerves stramineous), oblong-obovoid, compressed, (1–)2.5–3.5(–3.8) mm, 5–6-nerved, faces glabrous;

pappi tawny or rose-tinged, 3.7–5.2 mm.

cylindric to obovoid or oblong, sometimes ± compressed, 2–6-nerved, glabrous or ± strigillose.

(or pistillate) florets usually (6–)7–50(–60) in 1 series and laminae (3–)5–18(–21) × 0.8–2.8 mm, sometimes 14–110+ in 2–5+ series (sect. Conyzopsis) and laminae 4.5–5 × 0.1–0.2 mm or reduced to tubes.

= 7, 8.

= 16.