Saussurea americana
American Sawwort
Another member of the Aster Family with flowerheads consisting of disk flowers only (see Silverback Luina, Tongue-leaf Raineria). Tall stems reaching to 4′ (120 cm) support dense clusters of the purple disk flowers. Lance shaped leaves alternate along the stems and become smaller further up the stem. Uncommon, found in subalpine meadows on forest openings mostly above 5,000′ elevation.
Family:
Asteraceae - SUNFLOWER FAMILY, ASTER FAMILY (Compositae)
Genus:
Saussurea for Swiss naturalist horace Benedict de Saussure
Species:
americana for 'American, of America'
