Home
Leaves discolorous; mid-to lower-cauline leaves mostly 5–15 x 1–2.5 cm., narrowly lanceolate and shortly acute, or these 8–16 x 0.5–1.7 cm., linear-lanceolate and tapering acute; lowermost leaves decreasing in size to the stem base, becoming scale-like; upper-cauline leaves linear and narrowly tapering-attenuate; bases hardly narrowing and sometimes subauriculate before becoming stem-clasping or stem-sheathing; stem-sheaths 5–25 mm. long, submembranous; margins flat and serrulate or strongly revolute; upper surface green and thinly araneose to glabrescent, lower surface white appressed araneose-lanate, sometimes sparsely so; 3(5)-veined from the base.
Phyllaries numerous, greenish-stramineous, stiffly chartaceous, glabrous with margins araneose-ciliate at first; the outer 6–9 series stiffly diverging or ascending, the outermost 2–4 series patent to reflexed, increasing from c. 6 mm. to c. 30 mm. long, the largest up to c. 3.5 mm. wide or 4–7 mm. wide, flat and pale scarious-winged in the lower part, long-attenuate pungent with inrolled margins in the upper part; the innermost 2–3 series of phyllaries shorter, lorate or narrowly oblong, cuspidate, white membranous.
Achenes 2–4 mm. long, turbinate, densely long-ascending hispid; pappus copious, several seriate, of plumose setae 8–10 mm. long, shorter on the outside, seta bristles c. 1 mm. long.
Capitula 1-numerous, clustered or subpaniculate at the stem apex, or terminal on short axillary branches and racemose.
An erect perennial herb, 18–80(100) cm. tall from a small woody rootstock; roots spreading, thong-like.
Stems annual, solitary, usually branching near the apex, leafy, sericeous or araneose-lanate.
Corollas yellowish, 9–11 mm. long, infundibuliform; lobes c. 5 mm. long, linear, erect.
Involucres mostly 20–35 x 15–30 mm., spreading to c. 40 mm. in diam., broadly obconic.