Stems decumbent to erect, 16-39 cm, moderately to densely strigose, sparsely to abundantly long-hirsute, eglandular or sparsely stipitate-glandular. Distal cauline leaf blades oblanceolate, 21-35 × 3.5-6 mm, bases narrowly cuneate to attenuate, margins flat, apices acute, faces moderately strigose (20-60 hairs/mm² ), eglandular or sparsely stipitate-glandular. Heads 1-12(-25). Peduncles (5-)12-47(-67) mm, sparsely to densely hispido-strigose, eglandular; bracts subtending heads usually none, rarely linear-oblanceolate, leaflike. Involucres narrowly cylindric to campanulate (fresh), (5-)6-9(-11) mm. Phyllaries narrowly triangular-lanceolate, margins usually reddish purple distally, faces moderately to densely strigose, eglandular. Ray florets 10-27(-38), laminae (6.5-)8.5-15(-20) mm. 2n = 18, 36.

Flowering (May-)Jun-Oct(-Nov, south). Silty, sandy loam or clay soils, chalk, or granitic soils, gravel soils, dry shale-limestone soils, red sandstone soils, travertine soils of sandhill prairies, pastures, grasslands, roadsides, railroad rights-of-way; 300-2300(-2900) m; Alta., B.C., Man. , Ont., Sask.; Colo., Idaho, Ill., Kans., Mich., Mont., Nebr., N.Dak., Oreg., S.Dak., Wash., Wyo.

Variety villosa grows primarily in the Great Plains region; it is rare in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon, and represented in Michigan and southern Ontario by chance introduction.

Taprooted, several-stemmed perennial 2-4(-5) dm, ±pubescent with long or short, appressed or spreading hairs; lvs numerous, nearly alike, oblong-elliptic to linear- oblanceolate, acute to rounded, seldom over 5 נ1 cm, mostly entire, the lower tending to be short- petiolate, the lowermost deciduous; heads several, the invol 5-10 mm, ±strigose or hirsute and sometimes also glandular, its bracts regularly imbricate, gradually tapering to a point, often purple-tipped; rays mostly 10-35, 6-10 mm; achenes narrowly obovate, 3-5-nerved; 2n=18, 36. Dry, open, often sandy places; Minn. to Mo., w. to B.C., Calif., and Tex. July-Oct. (Heterotheca v.) Two or more vars. with us, others farther w.

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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