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General:
Biennial or short-lived perennial from a taproot; stems erect, solitary to few, simple or rarely branched, moderately to densely stiff-hairy, 10-35 (rarely less than 5) cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves spoon-shaped, tufted and persistent, stalked, 1-10 cm long including the stalks, 2-13 mm wide; stem leaves similar, becoming oblanceolate and reduced above.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, terminating the stem or few branches; involucres 9-18 mm tall; involucral bracts lanceolate, in 4-7 (mostly 5) series, margins translucent and fringed, lightly-hairy, especially towards the center; ray flowers purplish to blue or rarely white or pink, often distinctly bluish when dried, 20-70, 12-25 mm long; disk flowers yellow, 4-6 mm long.
Fruits:
Achenes oblanceolate to narrowly egg-shaped, compressed, 2- to 3-ribbed, densely-hairy with forked hairs, papillose; pappus of 15-40 finely-barbed bristles, slightly longer than the disk flowers.
Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
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