Growth Habit:   Biennial or short lived perennial, up to 3 ft. tall. Rosette formed first year, flowering stalk elongates second year.

Leaves:   Long and divided below, short and narrow above. Covered with fine hair.

Stems:   Erect with slender wiry branches. Covered with fine hair.

Flowers:   Seed heads mostly on branch tips, solitary, to 1" diameter. Pink to purple, rarely white. Seed head bracts are black tipped, with 5 to 7 pairs of short feathery appendages.

Roots:  taproot not well developed.

Seeds:   Brownish, 1/8" long, notched on one side of base, short tuft of bristles at tip end.

Other:   Very aggressive, can infest large areas quickly, offers very little big game or livestock forage value.

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