8c. var. squarrosa

Stems and leaves pubescent with short to long, bent or curled, appressed to loosely matted hairs. 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) or sparsely hairy, mostly along the midvein, the outer series usually noticeably longer than the others. 2n=20. July–September.

Scattered mostly in the Ozark and Ozark Border Divisions, but uncommonly also in the Glaciated Plains and Mississippi Lowlands (Texas to Florida north to Missouri, Michigan, Maryland, and Delaware). Glades, ledges and tops of bluffs, openings of dry upland forests, and savannas; also roadsides.

The inflorescence of var. squarrosa tends to be denser and to consist of more heads than in the other two varieties in Missouri, but this feature is too variable to include in the key.