General:
Perennial herb from a taproot; stems erect, branched, thinly hairy, 40-80 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves oblanceolate to lanceolate, simple to irregularly pinnately cut or with a wavy margin, sparsely long-hairy above, long-hairy below, soon deciduous; stem leaves similar, reduced upwards.

Flowers:
Heads discoid, few to many, solitary at the ends of branches; disk flowers reddish-purple, the sterile marginal ones, if present, about 30 mm long, enlarged at the tips with 5 narrow lobes, the central ones perfect and about 20 mm long; involucres 12-18 mm tall, 10-14 mm wide; involucral bracts with enlarged, tattered or sometimes comb-like, light to dark brownish, often papery appendages at the tips, these wider than the bracts.

Fruits:
Achenes 2-3 mm long; pappus lacking or of papery bristles, 4-5 mm long.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Centaurea debeauxii Gren. & Godr.
Centaurea