Flora of North America species comparison

1–3+, ascending to erect (sometimes purple or purplish brown), glabrous or glabrate, sparsely hairy in leaf axils [villous to sericeous].

1–5+, erect (straight to ± flexuous distally, often reddish, sometimes brown), usually glabrous, sometimes ± pilose, particularly distally.

thin, apices callous-pointed, faces glabrous or glabrate;

basal usually withering by flowering, long-petiolate, petioles sheathing, sparsely ciliate, blades lanceolate, 40–110 × (3–)5–7 mm, bases attenuate, margins entire to crenulate, rarely with 1–2 teeth, apices obtuse to rounded, callus-pointed;

proximalmost cauline sometimes withering by flowering, winged-petiolate or sessile distally, blades lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 50–120(–180) × 1–6 mm, bases attenuate, margins entire, sparsely ciliate, apices acute;

distal sessile, blades subulate to lanceolate, 10–50 × 1–2 mm, bases clasping, apices acuminate.

thin, margins serrate (often sharply, teeth acuminate, mucronulate) to serrate-crenate or subentire, strigose, apices acuminate to acute, mucronulate, abaxial faces glabrous or sparsely to densely strigose-pilose, often pilose on midveins, sometimes on other veins also, adaxial glabrous or sparsely to densely strigose, sometimes ± scabrous;

basal withering by flowering, new vernal rosettes often present, long-petiolate (petioles ± narrowly winged, bases dilated, sheathing, ciliate), blades ovate to elliptic or suborbiculate, (10–)35–150 × (10–)25–75 mm, bases usually deeply cordate, sometimes rounded, margins coarsely, often irregularly serrate, apices sometimes obtuse or rounded;

proximal cauline often withering by flowering, winged-petiolate (becoming shorter and more widely winged distally, petiole bases clasping), blades widely to narrowly ovate, 40–100(–140) × 20–40(–70) mm, reduced distally, bases ± deeply cordate to rounded, margins sharply serrate, apices acuminate;

distal usually sessile or subsessile, rarely short-petiolate, blades ovate to lanceolate, 5–105 × 2–45 mm, bases cordate or rounded to attenuate or cuneate, margins serrate or entire (distalmost), apices acuminate.

1–4(–6) cm, ascending, glabrate, bracts 1–4(–5), subulate to lanceolate, foliaceous.

0.3–2 cm, ± pilose, bracts linear-oblanceolate or -lanceolate to linear, foliaceous, distally grading into phyllaries, margins sparsely ciliolate, glabrous.

cylindric to hemispheric, (4.5–)5–7.3 mm.

cylindro-campanulate to cylindric, (3–)4.5–5(–6) mm.

14–27;

corollas white, laminae (4.6–)5.6–7(–9.5)–10.3 × 1.3–2 mm.

(8–)10–16(–20);

corollas usually blue to purple, seldom whitish or pink, laminae (5–)6–8(–10) × 1.4–1.8 mm.

18–35(–42);

corollas yellow, 3.5–5 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats (hairy), lobes± spreading, triangular, 0.5–0.7 mm.

(8–)10–15(–20);

corollas cream-color or light yellow becoming purple, (3–)4–4.5(–5) mm, tubes slightly shorter than funnelform throats, lobes sometimes ± spreading, narrowly triangular to lanceolate, 0.6–0.9 mm.

in 2–3(–5) series, subulate to lanceolate, bases indurate, margins hyaline, entire to erose, often ciliate, green zones linear-lanceolate (outer) or rhombic (inner), apices acute, faces glabrous [sparsely villous].

in (3–)4–6 series, linear-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, unequal, bases indurate 1/2–3/4, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, sparsely ciliolate, green zones lanceolate to ± diamond-shaped, apical, apices (often red-tipped) acute to obtuse-acuminate or acuminate, mucronulate, faces glabrous or sparsely strigillose.

(1–)3–20(–40), in paniculiform arrays, branches patent.

[(5–)20–300+] in ± densely paniculiform arrays, branches divaricate to ascending, paniculiform, sometimes ± long-arching, leafy.

light brown to gray, narrowly obovoid to fusiform, sometimes ± compressed, 2–3 mm, 5-nerved, faces glabrate to sparsely strigillose;

pappi white to cream, 3.5–5.5 mm.

dull purple or light brown, obovoid, ± compressed, 2–2.5 mm, 4–5-nerved, faces glabrous;

pappi white or ± rose-tinged, 2.5–4.5 mm.

= 10.

= 16, 32.