Flora of North America species comparison

1–5+, ascending to erect (often with purple or purplish brown areas, flexuous, wiry), little-branched, usually glabrous, sometimes hairy in lines distally.

1–3+, erect (sometimes brown proximally, strict to straight), glabrous.

thick (fleshy), margins entire, faces glabrous;

basal withering by flowering (new winter rosettes appearing at flowering), petiolate (petioles sheathing), blades ovate or oblanceolate, 15–20 × 5–15 mm, bases cuneate, apices rounded;

proximal cauline withering by flowering, usually sessile, blades lanceolate, linear-lanceolate or -oblanceolate, to linear, 7–80(–150) × 1–6 (–12) mm, bases attenuate, margins entire, apices acuminate to acute;

distal sessile, blades narrowly lanceolate to subulate, 10–110 × 0.5–5 mm, apices acuminate.

green to dark green, firm, ± fleshy, margins entire, ciliate, apices acute, callous, faces sparsely strigillose;

basal persistent or petiole bases marcescent, long-petiolate (to 15 cm; petioles sheathing, margins glabrous), blades linear to linear-lanceolate, 10–30 × 2–7 mm, bases cuneate to subattenuate, margins sparsely denticulate or entire, indurate-translucent;

proximal cauline persistent, sessile or subpetiolate, blades linear, 42–105 × 1–3 mm, bases clasping, margins often revolute;

distal sessile, blades usually linear, sometimes awl-shaped, 50–180 × 5–10 mm, strongly reduced distally, more abruptly so on array branches, bases subclasping to adnate for 1/2+ length, margins often revolute.

0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.

1–20+ cm, slender, glabrous, bracts 4–22, linear (awl-shaped), grading into phyllaries.

narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.

cylindro-campanulate, 5.5–9 mm.

10–25;

corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.

8–23;

corollas purple to blue-lavender, laminae (10–)14–15(–20) × 0.8–2.2 mm.

25–45(–54);

corollas yellow becoming purplish, 3.4–6(–6.8) mm, tubes shorter than to equaling the narrowly funnelform throats (sparsely hairy at base), lobes ± erect, narrowly triangular, 0.5–0.8 mm.

47–57;

corollas pale yellow, 4.7–6.3 mm, throats funnelform to narrowly campanulate, lobes triangular, 0.5–0.7 mm (proximally sparsely pilose).

in 4–5 series, lanceolate to subulate, bases indurate, rounded, margins hyaline, often tinged with purple, entire, green zones spatulate to oblanceolate-rhombic, apices acute, adaxial faces glabrous or minutely hairy distally.

in 4–5(–6) series, oblong-lanceolate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (innermost), bases indurate (at least inner), margins scarious, hyaline, purplish distally, ciliolate, green zones narrowly lanceolate, not evident, apices purplish, acute (outer) to acuminate (inner), sometimes mucronate (inner), faces sparsely villous.

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

in open, usually corymbiform, sometimes ± paniculiform arrays, branches ascending, simple, slender, elongate.

light brown, narrowly obovoid to fusiform, sometimes ± compressed, 1.5–4(–4.5) mm, 5–6-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose;

pappi tawny to white, 3–6.1 mm.

tan to gray-brown (nerves stramineous), obovoid, compressed, 3.1–4.5 mm, 8–10(–14)-nerved, faces glabrous;

pappi yellowish, 4.4–4.7 mm.

= 14.