Flora of North America species comparison

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

1–5+, erect (straight, stout to slender, often reddish), glabrous and hairy in lines distally or sometimes wholly strigoso-pilose (var. villicaule).

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.

thick, firm, ± fleshy, margins scabrous, apices mucronate, faces glabrous, abaxial midveins sometimes villosulous (var. villicaule);

basal withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles winged, bases sheathing), blades ovate to ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 17–60+ × 6–11+ mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, apices obtuse;

proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile or widely winged-petiolate (petioles clasping), blades lance-ovate or -obovate to elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 40–200 × 4–40 mm, bases cuneate or sometimes slightly attenuate, sometimes rounded or slightly auriculate, slightly clasping, apices acute to acuminate;

distal sessile, blades lance-ovate to linear-lanceolate, 13–62 × 3–15 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases cuneate or ± rounded, sometimes slightly auriculate, ± clasping, margins sparsely serrulate or entire.

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.

4–41 mm, glabrous or moderately pilose, bracts 1–3, lanceolate or ovate to linear-oblanceolate, subtending ones sometimes exceeding involucres, sometimes grading into phyllaries.

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

campanulate, 6–9 mm.

(8–)10–18(–20);

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

15–35;

corollas usually blue-violet or purple, rarely pink or white, laminae (6–)10–19 × 0.9–2.1 mm.

6–12(–20);

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

28–68;

corollas yellow becoming reddish brown to purple, 4–7.5 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform-campanulate throats, lobes lanceolate, 1–1.5 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, oblong-oblanceolate or -spatulate (outer) or oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or linear (inner), ± unequal to subequal, bases indurate 1/5–1/3, margins hyaline, scarious, erose and sparsely ciliolate distally, green zones lanceolate, sometimes foliaceous, apices spreading to ± squarrose, usually acute to obtuse or ± long-acuminate, mucronulate, faces glabrous.

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

in open to dense, paniculiform arrays, branches ± divaricate to ascending, leafy with remote, small, gradually reduced branch leaves.

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 to brown, obovoid, compressed, 2–4 mm, 4–6-nerved, faces sparsely strigose to glabrate;

pappi sordid to yellowish, 4–6 mm.