What to look for in the field:

The capitulescence is broad and open, with numerous ascending, recurved branches, which are located in the upper 1/3 of the stem.  Branches are often somewhat thin (not stout), finely pubescent and have numerous small leaves.  Heads are crowded in one-sided arrays on branches.

Stems are variously thin to stout, glabrous to sparsely pubescent below, becoming more densely pubescent above in the capitulescence.

Basal leaves are typically deciduous at flowering.  Lower stem leaves are oblanceolate, toothed and taper to winged petioles.  Mid- to upper stem leaves gradually become smaller and narrower upward and have shorter petioles, but in other respects are similar to lower stem leaves.

Colony-forming from rhizomes under favorable conditions.

.

11/16/2009