Purple Cudweed - Gnaphalium purpureum
Other Names:
Gamochaeta ustulata, Gnaphalium purpureum var. ustulata
Biennial or short-lived perennial. Stems erect, simple, 10–40 cm. Leaves 1–3 cm long; basal petiolate, oblanceolate; cauline linear, sessile. Glomerules terminal in a narrow, spike-like inflorescence, surpassing subtending leaves. Involucres 3–5 mm high; phyllaries white, with acute tips, sometimes tomentose at the base. Inner corollas 2–4 mm long. Achenes ca. 0.5 mm long; pappus deciduous in a ring
(Lesica 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).