E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect, several, 0.3-1.5 m tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves soon deciduous; stem leaves linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate, egg-shaped or almost round in outline, few-toothed or lobed to deeply pinnate or subpalmately divided, some of the segments again toothed or divided, white-woolly below, green or rarely finely white-woolly above, 5-15 cm long.

Flowers:
Heads disciform, erect or nodding in a compact or narrow, branched inflorescence; involucres bell-shaped or top-shaped, 3-5 mm tall; involucral bracts broadly lanceolate to egg-shaped, purplish or sometimes green; receptacles glabrous; female flowers 8-12; disk flowers 20-40.

Fruits:
Achenes glabrous.

Notes:
Only two varieties of this species are readily separated taxonomically, and to a lesser extent geographically, in our region (Douglas 1995). They may be separated as follows:

1. Inflorescence relatively short and compact, usually overtopped by the upper leaves .....................var. tilesii

1. Inflorescence ample and open to subcompact in a narrow, branched inflorescence, always surpassing the upper leaves....................... var. unalaschcensis (Bess.) Hult.