Lappula occidentalis var. cupulata
Lappula occidentalis var. occidentalis
Lappula occidentalis var. stricta

General:
Annual herb from a taproot, short curly- or stiff-hairy (or appressed-hairy) throughout; stems simple or branched above, 5-50 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves oblanceolate, often deciduous, 2-6 cm long, to 1 cm wide; stem leaves linear or linear-oblong to oblanceolate, reduced upward to the leafy, lanceolate bracts of the inflorescence, unstalked or nearly so, entire, alternate.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of narrow, elongating clusters that have bracts throughout; flower stalks ascending to erect when in fruit; petals blue or white, fused at base into small (2-4 mm long) tube that flares a bit (1.5-2.5 mm wide) at the top to 5 lobes, with 5 yellow bulges at the throat; fruiting calyces 3-3.5 mm long, the lobes erect.

Fruits:
Nutlets 4, clustered together, egg-shaped, 2-3 mm long, with a crown of marginal, barb-tipped prickles in a single row, prickles distinct or sometimes fused at the base to form a cuplike rim.

Note: Two varieties occur in BC:
1. Prickles of nutlets distinct to base; the common variety var. occidentalis
1. Prickles of nutlets fused at base, forming a cup; rare var. cupulata (A. Gray) Higgins

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