General:
Perennial herb from a taproot; stems erect, usually simple, narrow-winged, lightly hairy, 30-80 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal and lower to middle stem leaves broadly lanceolate, entire, the bases winged and continuous with the stems, lightly woolly below, nearly glabrous above, reduced upwards.

Flowers:
Heads discoid, solitary on the stems; involucres 20-25 mm tall, 12-15 mm wide; involucral bracts egg-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped, glabrous, with dark brown or black, tattered margins towards the apex; disk flowers blue, rarely white, the sterile marginal ones 40-45 mm long, enlarged at the tips with five lobes, the central perfect ones about 16 mm long.

Fruits:
Achenes light yellow, glossy, 5-6 mm long; pappus about 0.5 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 montana var. alba hort.