8a. var. glabrata (Rydb.) Gaiser

Stems glabrous below the inflorescence. Leaves glabrous. Most or all of the involucral bracts relatively long-tapered to a gradually or less commonly abruptly spreading or reflexed tip, glabrous (except for the hairy margins), the outer series usually noticeably longer than the others. July–September.

Scattered mostly in the Unglaciated Plains Division but occasionally also in the Ozark, Ozark Border, and Glaciated Plains (South Dakota, Colorado, and Texas east to Iowa and Arkansas). Glades, ledges and tops of bluffs, openings of dry upland forests, savannas, and upland prairies; also roadsides.