Taprooted biennial to 4(-7) dm, arachnoid-tomentose to subglabrous, simple or more often freely branched, the heads terminating the branches; lvs to 10(-15) cm, the lower tapering to a petiolar base, the others broadly sessile; stem not winged; invol 2-2.5 cm, the outer bracts like reduced lvs, the inner with long, slender, acuminate, brightly stramineous, eventually spreading tip; fls purple; achenes 3-4 mm; pappus 1 cm; 2n=20. Native of Europe, now well established as a weed in pastures and old fields near Ithaca, N.Y. and in nw. N.J., and to be expected elsewhere. Aug.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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