Perennials, 10-20(-25) cm (rhizomes stout). Stems erect or ascending, glabrous or weakly scabrous-puberulent. Leaves usually withered at flowering; basal blades narrowly lanceolate, markedly runcinate, 3-7 cm, margins pinnately lobed (faces glabrous or weakly scabrous-puberulent). cauline much reduced, bractlike . Heads borne singly on branch tips . Peduncles 10-50 mm (usually minutely bracteolate). Calyculi of appressed bractlets (unequal, lengths to ¹/2 phyllaries). Involucres 9-12(-13) mm (phyllaries 5-6, glabrous). Florets 5-6. Cypselae tan, 3-5 mm, faces smooth to slightly bumpy, grooved; pappi of 15-25, white bristles (persistent), wholly plumose. 2n = 16.

Flowering June-Sep. Open sandy places, eroded siltstones, clay flats, alkali soils; 600-1800 m; Alta., Sask.; Colo., Mont., Nebr., N.Dak., Utah, Wyo.

Stephanomeria runcinata grows in the upper Great Plains and adjacent intermontane valleys.

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Subshrub

General: Herbaceous perennials, to 25 cm tall, stems erect or ascending, herbage glabrous or weakly scabarous-puberulent, plants with milky sap and stout rhizomes.

Leaves: Alternate, narrowly lanceolate, 3-7 cm long, sharply pinnately lobed or cleft, with the segments directed downwards or backwards towards the base of the leaf (runcinate), faces glabrous or weakly scabrous-puberulent, cauline blades becoming much reduced and bractlike near stem tips, basal usually withered at flowering.

Flowers: Pink, lavender, or white, often purple-tinged below, florets in clusters of 5-6 in heads with only ray flowers, (liguliflorous), involucres cylindric, 9-13 mm long, phyllaries glabrous, 5-6 in 1-2 series, calyculi of appressed, unequal bractlets, bracts about half as long as the phyllaries, receptacles flat, usually smooth and glabrous, epaleate, heads borne singly on branch tips, peduncles 10-50 mm long and usually minutely bracteolate.

Fruits: Cypselae (achenes) tan, cylindric, 5-angled, each face generally with long, narrow, central groove, 3-5 mm long, sometimes lightly curved, faces smooth to slightly bumpy and grooved. Pappi of 15-25 persistent, wholly plumose white bristles.

Ecology: Found on eroded siltstones, clay flats, and alkali soils, in open sandy places, from 2,000-6,000 ft (610-1829 m); flowering June-September.

Distribution: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, Colorado.

Ethnobotany: Milky sap used for sore eyes.

Synonyms: None

Editor: LCrumbacher2012

Etymology: Stephanomeria is derived from the Greek stephane, "wreath or crown," and meros, "division", while runcinata means saw-toothed, with the teeth pointing toward the base.