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 to slightly flexuous, brittle, sometimes stout), proximally glabrous or glabrate, distally sparsely pilose.

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.

thin, margins usually shallowly, sometimes deeply serrate, rarely entire (distal), (piloso- to strigoso-)ciliate to scabrous (distal), apices mucronate, abaxial faces moderately pilose, ± densely so on midveins, adaxial glabrate to sparsely pilose or scabrous;

basal usually withering by flowering, sometimes persistent, long-petiolate (5–15 cm, petioles not or narrowly winged, sheathing), blades ovate to lance-ovate or lanceolate, 25–120 × 15–50 mm, bases usually shallowly, sometimes deeply, cordate to truncate or rounded, apices acute, sometimes rounded;

proximal cauline sometimes deciduous at flowering, winged-petiolate (petioles distally usually broader-winged, clasping), blades ovate to lanceolate, 50–120 × 20–50 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases usually truncate or rounded to attenuate, sometimes cordate, apices usually acute or acuminate, sometimes nearly caudate;

distal ± shortly winged-petiolate or sessile, blades lance-ovate or lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 10–100 × 1–25 mm, reduced distally, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins entire to subentire, scabrous, apices acuminate to subcaudate.

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

0.3–2 cm, sparsely pilosulous to glabrate, bracts many, ascending, linear to subulate, 2–4 mm, grading into phyllaries.

narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.

cylindric, (4–)4.5–6(–7) mm.

10–25;

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

8–15(–20);

corollas mostly white to pale pink or lilac or light blue, laminae 4.5–8(–10) × 0.8–1.5 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.

(8–)10–15(–20);

corollas whitish to cream becoming pink, (3.5–)4–5 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats (with hairs), lobes lanceolate, 0.4–0.7 mm.

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 4–6 series, appressed or recurved-spreading, subulate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner), unequal, bases indurate 1/3–1/2+, margins scarious, hyaline, erose, sparsely ciliolate (mostly distally), green zones linear-lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), apices long-acuminate to caudate, recurved, hyaline-mucronate to aristate, tips often purple, faces glabrous.

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

(crowded) in dense, elongate, paniculiform arrays, branches stiffly ascending to erect (sometimes arched when long, peduncles then often secund), usually racemiform, sometimes paniculiform, leafy.

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 brown or dull purple (nerves stramineous), obovoid, ± compressed, 1.8–2.5 mm, 4–6-nerved, faces glabrous or glabrate or very sparsely strigillose;

pappi white or rose-tinged, 3–4 mm.

= 16.