General:
Perennial herb from extensive rhizomes; stems erect, branched above, solitary, glabrous or glaucous, 0.2-1.2 m tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate, linear to lanceolate or oblong, the lower ones 5-14 cm long, 6-35 mm wide, entire or more or less pinnately cut, rarely sharply toothed, stalked, the upper ones reduced, becoming entire, unstalked to somewhat clasping.

Flowers:
Heads with strap-shaped flowers, several to numerous in an elongate to rounded inflorescence; involucres 15-20 mm tall; involucral bracts narrowly egg-shaped, graduated, the outer shorter, often purplish; ray flowers blue or sometimes violet to blue, 18-50.

Fruits:
Achenes oblong-lanceolate, short-beaked, the beak equaling or less than 1/2 the length of the body, compressed, several-nerved on each face, glabrous, 6-7 mm long including the prominent beak, pale brown; pappus white.

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:
Lactuca tatarica subsp. pulchella (L.) C.A. Mey.