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General: Perennial herb from a taproot and a crown or short-branched stem-base; stems erect, simple, usually solitary, closely stiff-hairy with appressed hairs, 1-40 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal leaves linear to linear-oblanceolate, more or less straight-hairy with appressed hairs, 1-12 cm long, 0.5-5 mm wide, their bases slightly or moderately enlarged and whitish or purplish; stem leaves similar, linear, reduced upwards, often bractlike.
Flowers: Heads with ray and disk flowers, solitary or few, the disks 6-18 mm wide; involucres 4.5-8 mm tall; involucral bracts more or less densely stiff long-hairy, also somewhat glandular, subequal, sometimes with a brown midrib, usually with purplish tips; ray flowers 20-80, blue, purple or white, 4-12 mm long, 1.2-2.4 mm wide; disk flowers 2.8-4.3 mm long.
Fruits: Achenes 2-nerved, stiff- or long-hairy; pappus double, the inner of 10-20 firm bristles, the outer of short, usually conspicuous scales.
Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
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