Short-lived perennial; flower stems usually single, stout, lower part densely hairy, smooth above; leaves very numerous, crowded at base of stem in a rosette and closely overlapping (like shingles on a roof) well above the base, leaf blades lance-like.
Basal leaves often lack hairy margins, surfaces hairy with 2 or 3-rayed hairs; lower stems densely hairy; >20 1/4 to 1/2 inch stemmed leaves crowded on lower flower stems; flowers white to pinkish-purple; fruits not hairy, <3/4 inch long, bend downward.
Habitat
Basalt, limestone, and sandy soils in Ponderosa pine forests and pinyon-juniper woodlands. Found rarely up to 8000 feet.
Flower Characteristics
Seedhead has 5 to 50 flowers on upper half of stem; ascending at anthesis (flowering period); sepals covered with short, soft hairs; petals white to pinkish-purple; valves smooth; pollen shaped in a narrow oval.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Blades lance-like, <1 inch long, 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide; lower leaves stemmed, margins shallowly toothed, sometimes hairy at base, surfaces sparsely to densely hairy; upper leaves 30 to 65, not stemmed, margins smooth, outermost surface usually smooth.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit hanging or drooping downward; arranged around main axis, not lying flat against the stem; curved; edges parallel; smooth; ovules 130 to 210 per ovary.
Seeds arranged in 2 rows.