Dieteria bigelovii var. commixta

Tall, rigid, branched, brownish stems bearing a sparse covering of thin leaves, topped by pink-purple flowers, each consisting of around 30 ray florets (ranging from 12 to 60) surrounding a yellow center of tiny disc flowers. The flower head is about 1.5 inches in diameter. Flower heads are subtended by overlapping rows of bracts (phylliaries) with curved tips which are green for at least half of the length of the phylliary. The leaves are 2-4” (5–10 cm) long with sharp teeth. The blue or purple ray florets are female, while the yellow disc florets are bisexual. The ray florets close upwards in shade. The fruit is seedlike, with bristles at the tip. Bigelow’s tansyaster (Machaeranthera bigelovii) and hoary tansyaster (Machaeranthera canescens) are challenging to distinguish due to overlapping habitats and hybridization and the many varieties