Pecos River skeletonplant

Perennials 25–60 cm (dense bushy clumps); taproots deep, vertical, woody. Stems ascending to erect, pale green, striate, often much-branched from bases and distally, glabrous. Leaves: (basal forming rosettes, sometimes withered and absent at flowering) proximal blades linear. 50–70 × 1–2 mm, entire or sparingly laciniate; cauline 40 mm or less, reduced to scales distally. Heads (1–6), borne singly. Involucres cylindric, 14–21 × 4–6 mm, apices narrow. Calyculi of 8–10, ovate bractlets 2–3 mm, margins ciliate (apices often purple, with small appendages, faces glabrous, sometimes roughened). Phyllaries 5–7, linear-oblong, 16–20 mm, margins scarious, faces glabrous, apices appendaged (often dark). Florets 5–7; corollas lavender, 12–16 mm, ligules 5–6 mm wide. Cypselae 11–14 mm, faces smooth, adaxial weakly sulcate, glabrous ; pappi 11–13 mm. 2n = 18.

Flowering Jun–Oct. Rocky grasslands and oak forest, rocky soil, roadsides; 1200–1900 m; Tex.; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora).

Lygodesmia ramosissima is often confused with the more widespread L. texana; it can be distinguished by its thinner, more intricately branched stems, 5–7 florets per head, sulcate cypselae, and later daily flowering time (A. S. Tomb 1980).