Flora of North America species comparison

1–3+, ascending to erect (grayish brown to brown), sparsely to densely hispido-strigose, sometimes glabrescent proximally.

1, ascending to decumbent (slender, green to reddish brown), glabrate or sparsely short woolly-pilose in lines or zones, more densely so distally.

usually all except rameal withered by flowering, (light grayish green) firm apices ± white-spine-tipped (often with clusters of smaller leaves in axils);

basal sessile, blades (3-nerved) oblanceolate to oblong or spatulate, 10–50 × 10–25 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, scabrous, apices rounded to obtuse, faces usually sparsely hairy, often glabrous;

proximal cauline sessile, blades (1- or 3-nerved) linear to lanceolate or oblong, 10–40(–60) × 1.5–4(–7) mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, coarsely ciliate, margins entire, coarsely ciliate, apices acute or obtuse, faces moderately to densely strigose or hirsute;

distal sessile, blades oblong-ovate, 10–40 × 1.5–3.5 mm, abruptly reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, faces moderately to densely strigose.

(light green, abaxial sometimes becoming much darker) thin to firm, margins entire, scabrous, apices mucronulate, faces glabrous;

basal persistent or withering by flowering, petiolate, blades oblanceolate to short-spatulate, 10–130 × 2–8 mm, bases cuneate to attenuate, margins rarely sparsely serrulate, apices obtuse, faces glabrous;

proximal cauline persistent or withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate to linear lanceolate, 13–60 × 2–6 mm, bases ± clasping, apices acute;

distal sessile, blades linear to linear-lanceolate, 10–36 × 1–4 mm, reduced distally, bases subauriculate, subclasping to ± clasping.

0.5–1(–2) cm or subsessile, densely hairy, bracts dense, linear to narrowly lanceolate, usually reflexed, sometime appressed to ascending, 1.5–5(–6) mm, densely hairy, grading into phyllaries.

10–70 mm, sparsely to moderately short-strigose, bracts 0–10, lanceolate, often foliaceous, reduced distally.

cylindric to campanulate, 2.5–4.5(–5) mm.

cylindro-campanulate, 4.7–7.4 mm.

(8–)10–18(–20);

corollas usually white, rarely pink or bluish, laminae 6–12(–20) × 0.7–1.2 mm.

15–41;

corollas white to pale rose, often becoming rose-violet, laminae 5–13 × 0.7–1.8 mm.

6–12(–20);

corollas yellow becoming brown, 2.5–4 mm, throats narrowly funnelform, lobes triangular, 0.5–0.6 mm, glabrous.

20–60;

corollas yellow turning reddish with age, 3.7–6.6 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes erect to spreading, lanceolate, 0.4–0.8 mm.

in 3–4 series, oblanceolate to ± spatulate, unequal, firm, bases (whitish to tan) ± indurate in proximal 1/2–2/3, margins hyaline, scabrous proximally, green zones diamond-shaped, in distal 1/2, apices spine-tipped, (outer) spreading to reflexed or squarrose, faces (outer) sparsely to densely hispid, scabroso-hirsute adaxially, (inner) glabrous.

in 3–4 series, outer spatulate, inner lanceolate, ± unequal to subequal, bases indurate, margins reddish, papery, erose-ciliate, green zones lanceolate, apices acute, faces glabrous.

(1–200+) in paniculiform arrays, branches fastigiate or arrays often pyramidal, racemiform, secund, crowded.

usually borne singly or in open, paniculiform arrays (sometimes terminating lateral branches arising from decumbent stems or from proximal stem branches), branches few.

deep purple turning brown, obovoid to oblong-obovoid, ± falcate, not compressed, 1.2–2 × 0.4–0.6 mm, 7–9-nerved (faint), faces sericeous or densely strigillose;

pappi whitish, 3–4 mm.

tan (nerves stramineous), obovoid, compressed, 2–3 mm, 3–5-nerved, faces strigillose;

pappi white, 4–6.5 mm.

= 16.