General:
Perennial herb with a taproot and sometimes a short-branched woody base; stems erect, simple or branched, several or solitary, hairy to nearly glabrous, 10-60 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves alternate, oblanceolate to oval, narrowly stalked, tufted, hairy to nearly glabrous, 5-40 cm long, 0.5-4.0 cm wide, spiny-toothed to entire; stem leaves similar, reduced, becoming unstalked upwards.

Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, solitary or sometimes several in flat-topped to rounded inflorescence; involucres 15-30 mm tall; involucral bracts broadly oblong, graduated, margins thin, dry and papery; ray flowers 0-30, inconspicuous, seldom exceeding pappus; disk flowers numerous, yellow, 10-14 mm long.

Fruits:
Achenes elongate, glabrous; pappus of stiff, brownish, hairlike bristles.

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:
Haplopappus carthamoides (Hook.) A. Gray
Haplopappus carthamoides subsp. carthamoides
Haplopappus carthamoides subsp. rigidus (Rydb.) H.M. Hall
Haplopappus carthamoides var. erythropappus (Rydb.) H. St. John
Haplopappus carthamoides var. rigidus (Rydb.) M. Peck
Haplopappus carthamoides var. typicus (H.M. Hall) Cronquist