Flora of North America species comparison

1–3+, erect (straight to ± flexuous), glabrate to sparsely hirsute or strigillose, especially distally.

1–3+, decumbent to ascending (curved or straight, sometimes stout, green to reddish brown), glabrous.

thin, margins coarsely, sharply serrate to crenate-serrate or serrulate, ciliate to scabrous, apices acute or acuminate, mucronulate, abaxial faces glabrate to sparsely hirsute, midveins usually densely hirsute, sometimes glabrous, adaxial glabrous or glabrate to scabrellous;

basal usually withering by flowering (sometimes persistent on small plants), long-petiolate (petioles slightly winged, sheathing, ciliate), blades ovate, (24–)40–120(–270) × 15–70 mm, bases usually shallowly cordate, sometimes rounded;

proximal cauline often withering by flowering, winged-petiolate, blades ovate to oblanceolate or lanceolate, (24–)60–150 × (10–)20–60 mm, reduced distally, bases subcordate to cuneate;

distal sessile or sometimes subsessile (petioles widely-winged), blades lance-ovate to linear-lanceolate or linear, 18–75 × (2–)5–25 mm, bases cuneate, sometimes ± clasping, margins serrulate or entire.

(dark green to bluish green) thin, apices acute to acuminate, mucronate, faces glabrate or glabrous;

basal withering by flowering (vernal rosettes developed at flowering), petiolate or sessile (petioles winged, sheathing, ciliate), blades oblanceolate to obovate, 10–70 × 3–5 mm, bases cuneate to attenuate, margins entire or rarely sparsely serrate distally, apices obtuse to rounded, cuspidate;

proximal cauline usually withering by flowering, petiolate or sessile (petioles narrowly winged, bases ± clasping), blades oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate, 70–105 × 2–4 cm, bases attenuate to cuneate, or ± auriculate, ± clasping;

distal sessile, blades linear-lanceolate to narrowly subulate, 5–65 × 1–4 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases subauriculate, ± clasping, margins entire, with marginal cilia proximally, faces glabrous; reduced array leaves often in fascicles along branches, markedly 3-nerved.

0.2–1.5+ cm, unequal, reduced distally, ± hirsutulous, bracts 0–4, subulate or linear.

0.4–2 cm, mostly borne on secondary branches, glabrous, bracts 3–6, linear to subulate, stiff, distalmost sometimes surpassing involucres, glabrous.

campanulate, (4–)5–6.5 mm.

cylindric, (4.5–)5.5–7.1(–8.5) mm.

(12–)14–20;

corollas pale to deep blue or bluish purple, laminae (8.3–)10–15 × 1–2.3 mm.

(13–)20–28(–34);

corollas usually blue-violet, rarely white, laminae (7–)9–15(–19) × 0.6–2.1 mm.

14–25(–29);

corollas yellow becoming reddish purple, 4.3–6.4 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes narrowly triangular, 0.5–1.1 mm.

(28–)33–51(–68);

corollas yellow turning brown, 3.4–4.6(–5.5) mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.5–1 mm.

in 4–5 series, narrowly oblong-lanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate or linear-oblanceolate (innermost), ± unequal, bases indurate 1/3–2/3, margins narrowly scarious, erose, hyaline or infrequently purplish, sparsely ciliolate, green zones lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or linear, apices acuminate to long-acuminate, faces glabrous.

in 4–6 series, oblong-lanceolate to -oblanceolate to sometimes linear (innermost), unequal to subequal, bases indurate 1/4–2/3, margins narrowly scarious, erose, hyaline, sometimes sparsely ciliolate, green zones diamond-shaped to lanceolate, apices acute to long-acuminate, involute, spreading, mucronate to apiculate, faces glabrous.

[(6–)13–50(–100+)] in open, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending.

in leafy, paniculiform to racemiform arrays, branches nearly divaricate to ascending, straight, sometimes secund, secondarily ramified, leafy with array leaves ± stiff, asscending to appressed.

yellowish white, obovoid, compressed, 1–2 mm, 5–6-nerved, faces glabrate to sparsely strigillose;

pappi white to pinkish, 3–6 mm.

tan to brown, obovoid, ± compressed, 1.5–2.1 mm, 4–5-nerved (thin), faces sparsely strigillose;

pappi white, 3–5 mm.

= 48.

= 64.