Flora of North America species comparison

1–5+, erect (straight, glaucous, sometimes reddish proximally), glabrous, sometimes sparsely hirsute distally.

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

(glaucous) thick, firm, ± fleshy, margins crenate-serrate or -serrulate or entire, scabridulous, apices mucronulate, faces glabrous;

basal usually withering by flowering or sometimes persistent (var. purpuratum), petiolate (petioles ± winged, bases dilated, sheathing), blades spatulate or oblong to ovate or lanceolate-ovate, 30–200 × 10–25(–30) mm, bases attenuate or cuneate to rounded, margins crenate-serrate to serrulate, apices acute to obtuse or rounded;

proximal cauline often withering by flowering, petiolate or subsessile or sessile (petioles narrowly to broadly winged, clasping), blades ovate or oblong-ovate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, sometimes ± panduriform, (40–)80–150(–180) × (10–)20–45 mm, bases attenuate to rounded or ± shallowly auriculate-clasping, margins entire or shallowly crenate-serrate, minutely scabrous, apices acute or obtuse, callus-pointed;

distal sessile, blades lance-ovate or lanceolate to linear, 7–45 × 1–14 mm, progressively reduced distally (abruptly so in arrays), bases auriculate and ± clasping to rounded, margins entire.

(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.

0.2–6+ cm, glaucous, glabrous or puberulent in lines, bracts 3–6, densely spaced, subulate or linear-lanceolate to linear, subclasping, apices sometimes purplish, grading into phyllaries.

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

campanulate to cylindro-campanulate, (4.2–)5–7(–8) mm.

cylindro-campanulate, 4.7–7.4 mm.

(11–)13–23(–34);

corollas usually pale to dark blue or purple, seldom white, laminae (6–)7.2–11.3(–14.6) × 1.5–2.5 mm.

15–41;

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

(17–)19–33(–43);

corollas yellow turning purplish red, 3.5–6.1 mm, tubes slightly shorter than funnelform throats, lobes triangular, (0.4–)0.6–1 mm.

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 4–6 series, appressed, subulate or lanceolate (outer) to oblong-lanceolate or linear-lancolate or -oblanceolate, unequal (sometimes appearing subequal), bases indurate 1/2–3/4, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, ciliolate distally, green zones mostly diamond-shaped to ± lanceolate (some inner, or most in var. geyeri), apices acute to acuminate, sometimes ± obtuse, red-mucronate or apiculate, faces 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.

in broad, sometimes ± flat-topped, paniculiform arrays, branches stiffly ascending (rarely arching), leafy with small, gradually reduced branch leaves.

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 to brown, oblong-obovoid, compressed, 2–3.5 mm, 4–5-nerved, faces glabrous or glabrate;

pappi tawny to red- or rose-tinged, 5–7 mm.

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

pappi white, 4–6.5 mm.

= 16.