Flora of North America species comparison

1–5+, ascending to erect, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.

1–5+, ascending to erect (grayish brown to brown), moderately to densely hairy.

thin, margins entire or sometimes serrate, apices acute to obtuse, faces usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely hairy;

basal usually persistent, petiolate to subpetiolate, blades broadly elliptic to obovate, 30–200 × 8–25(–30) mm, bases attenuate, margins entire or sometimes serrate, apices acute to obtuse;

proximal cauline sessile or subpetiolate, blades elliptic to obovate, 35–120 × 8–25 mm, bases attenuate or cuneate to rounded, sometimes ± clasping, apices acute;

distal sessile, reduced distally, bases cuneate, apices acute.

(light grayish green) firm, margins entire, strigose, apices ± spine-tipped;

basal withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 10–40 × 3–10 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, rounded to mucronulate-spinose, faces glabrate to moderately strigose;

proximal cauline sessile, blades linear oblanceolate to oblong, 10–40(–60) × 1.5–4(–7) mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, coarsely ciliate, apices acute or obtuse, faces sparsely to densely appressed hispido-strigose;

distal sessile, blades linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate, 25–45 × 2–3 mm, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, faces moderately to densely strigose.

sparsely hairy, bracts 0–3, lanceolate.

0.2–4 cm, densely hairy, bracts 1–3+, linear to lanceolate, densely hairy.

campanulate, 6–16(–20) mm.

campanulate, (4.5–)5–8 mm.

15–60;

corollas violet to purple, laminae 8–18(–20) × 1–2 mm.

(15–)20–35;

corollas usually white, sometimes blue or pink, laminae (8–)18–30 × 1.1–1.4 mm.

50–150;

corollas yellow, 4–7 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–1 mm.

(8–)18–30;

corollas yellow becoming brown, 2–2.5 mm, lobes triangular, 0.7–1.2 mm, glabrous.

in 4–6 series, oblanceolate or oblong (outer) to lanceolate or linear (inner), subequal or unequal (outer exceeding inner), bases outer foliaceous, inner indurate, margins entire, green zones elliptic to lanceolate, apices acute to rounded, faces glabrous or puberulent.

in 3–4 series, outer oblanceolate to spatulate (1.5–2 mm), inner linear-lanceolate (3–4 mm), unequal, bases (whitish to tan) ± indurate in basal 1/2–3/4, margins hyaline, scabrous proximally, green zones diamond-shaped, in distal 1/4–1/2, apices (outer) acute to obtuse, clear spine-tipped, spreading to reflexed, (inner) acuminate to attenuate, faces sparsely to moderately hispid-strigose.

borne singly or in paniculiform arrays, branches ascending, up to 25 cm.

[(1–)10–200+] in racemiform to diffuse-paniculiform arrays (1–10+ per branch, usually not crowded).

brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 2.5–4 mm, 3–4-nerved, faces hairy;

pappi white to tawny, 5–8 mm.

dark brown, obovoid, not compressed, 2–2.5 mm, faint-nerved, faces densely strigose;

pappi whitish, 4.5–6 mm.