Appearance

Biennial or short-lived perennial herbaceous plant, 2 - 3' high. Basal leaves form a rosette the first year from which grow 1- 20 wiry, hoary, branched stems during the second year.

 

Leaves

Alternate, grayish, hoary, and divided into lance-shaped lobes decreasing in size at the top.

 

Flowers

Thistle-like pink to purple flowers sit at the tips of terminal and axillary stems, bloom from July through September.

 

Seeds

Brownish, 1/4" long with small tuft of bristles, dispersed by rodents, livestock and commercial hay. Seed viable in the soil for 7 years.

 

Roots

Stout taproot. Lateral shoots form new rosettes near the parent plant.