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.

1–5+, erect (straight), glabrate to hispidulous, distally pilosulous to strigillose in arrays.

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.

thick, firm, margins entire or crenate-serrate, scabrous, apices mucronate, faces scabrous, abaxial strigose to piloso-strigose or hirsute, adaxial strongly strigose;

basal withering by flowering, long-petiolate (petioles slightly winged, bases dilated, sheathing, ciliate), blades ovate to lance-ovate, 40–150(–180) × 10–40(–60) mm, bases ± cordate or rounded to attenuate, margins crenate-serrate to subentire, apices rounded or obtuse to acute;

proximal cauline petiolate (petioles narrowly winged, clasping), blades ovate or ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 30–130 × 12–70 mm, gradually or ± abruptly reduced distally, bases rounded to attenuate, margins entire, scabrous, apices acute or attenuate, callus-pointed;

distal sessile or sometimes short-petiolate and ± winged (appressed or ascending), blades lanceolate or linear-lanceolate to subulate, 5–80 × 1–10 mm, strongly reduced distally (more sharply so on branches), bases attenuate to cuneate or ± rounded, margins entire.

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

ascending, 0.2–6 cm, glabrate, densely bracteate, bracts linear-subulate, scabrous- or ciliate-margined, often revolute, grading with phyllaries.

narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.

campanulate to cylindro-campanulate, 4.5–8 mm.

10–25;

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

(10–)13–20(–25);

corollas usually pale to azure blue to violet-purple, (rarely rosy, white or bluish white), laminae (5–)8–12(–14) × 1.4–1.7 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.

(15–)20–25(–30);

corollas light yellow turning deep purple, 4–5 mm, tubes much shorter than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes triangular to lanceolate, 0.4–0.7 mm (lobes sparsely hairy).

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 (3–)4–6 series, appressed or outer slightly spreading, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, strongly unequal, bases indurate 1/2–3/4, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, ciliolate, apical green zones diamond-shaped, apices acute to acuminate or caudate (then tips often involute), mucronulate to apiculate, faces glabrous.

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

in open, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending, stiff, sometimes long-arching and peduncles secund, ± ridged, densely leafy with small, ± appressed branch leaves, ± strigose.

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.

dull purple or stamineous with purple streaks, oblong-obovoid, ± compressed, 1.8–2 mm, 4–5-nerved, faces glabrate to sparsely strigose;

pappi cream or slightly rose-tinged, 3–4 mm.

= 32.