| perennial from deep roots; NOT biennial |
| plants WITHOUT creeping rootstocks |
| plants always with stems |
| leaves white woolly beneath; NOT green
on both sides when mature |
| leaves pale green or gray, somewhat
woolly above; leaves NOT [deep green and bristly on upper sides] |
| upper surface of leaves NOT scabrous |
| occasionally some lower leaves entire
margined |
| cauline leaves deeply pinnatifid lobed;
NOT subentire to shallowly lobed |
| leaf lobes generally less than 7 mm
wide |
| flowering heads overtopping the
foliage; NOT exceeded by the foliage |
| heads more than 2.5 cm high |
| heads less than 5 cm high |
| involucres more than 2 cm high |
| involucres rarely over 2.5 cm high |
| involucres usually more than 12 mm wide |
| bracts of involucre progressively
longer from outer to inner, NOT more or less equal |
| bracts of involucre only slightly, if
at all, cobwebby; involucre NOT densely arachnoid |
| bracts with spiny tips |
| inner bracts of involucre WITHOUT
[loose, twisted, and spineless tips] |
| outer bracts of involucre glandular;
NOT eglandular |
| outer bracts of involucre more than 2
mm wide at base |
| male and female florets on the same
plant or flower head; NOT on separate plants |
| corollas deep purple (rarely white);
NOT light purple |
| achenes up to 5 mm long; NOT more than
5 mm long |
| pappus of mature fruit shorter than
corolla |