Main stems stout, woody, creeping and rooting, up to 1 m. long; branches ascending, up to 1 dm. or more long, pilose. Lvs 4·5-8 cm. long, with 9-13 lflts, petioles pilose; stipules up to c. 1 cm. long, deeply 5-6-fid or more. Upper lflts up to c. 1 cm. long, crenate-serrate, toothed almost to base, brownish green above, paler below; upper surface glab. or nearly so, lower densely pilose to pilose on veins only, teeth penicillate. Terminal lflt on petiolule c. 1·5 mm. long. Scapes up to 10 cm. long, pilose, stout, with or without one or more pairs of bracts. Heads, including spines, c. 1·5 cm. diam., bractlets c. 3 mm. long, often forked. Cupule c. 3-4 mm. long, obconic, tetragonous, pilose. Spines 3·5-6 mm. long, unequal, pale to dark brown or yellowish green, sts suffused with red. Sepals c. 1·5 mm. long, ovate, often tinged red, pilose below, ± papillose above. Stamens 2, anthers white. Stigma plumose.

Main stems rather slender, up to 5 dm. long, creeping and rooting; branches ascending, c. 3-5 cm. long, sparsely to densely pilose. Lvs 2.5-3·5 cm. long; stipules deeply 3-4-fld, up to 4 mm. long; lflts 9-11. Upper lflts 6·5-8·5 mm. long, deeply serrate, brownish green to green above, paler below, glab. or nearly so above, pilose on veins below, teeth penicillate. Scape up to 9 cm. long, slender, ± pilose, nude or with one or more bracts. Heads 1 cm. or more diam. including spines. Sepals ovate to broad-lanceolate, often tinged red, rather sparsely hairy below, ± papillose above. Cupules c. 2 mm. long, obconic, tetragonous, almost winged above, pilose. Spines subequal, up to 8 mm. long, yellowish green sts tinged red. Stamens 2, anthers white. Stigma plumose.

Main stems stout, creeping and rooting, up to 1 m. long; branchlets ascending, up to 10 cm. long, rather sparsely pilose to glab. Lvs c. 4-7 cm. long, 7-9-foliolate; stipules c. 1 cm. long, deeply 3-fld. Upper lflts elliptic to obovate-oblong, crenate-serrate, c. 1·5-2 cm. long, subsessile, bright green and glab. or nearly so above, paler and pilose on veins below. Terminal lflt on petiolule c. 3-4 mm. long. Scapes stout, up to 10 cm. long, ± pilose; bracts lfy, c. 1 cm. long. Heads c. 3 cm. diam. including spines; bractlets linear, up to 1 cm. long, often deeply toothed. Cupules obconic, tetragonous, almost winged above, pilose, c. 4 mm. long; spines unequal, up to 13 mm. long, pale green to pale yellow when mature. Sepals rather pale green, ovate-lanceolate, up to 1·5 mm. long, pilose below, glab. above. Stamens 2, anthers white. Stigma plumose.

2n = c. 42

2n = 42

n = 21

Stoloniferous perennial; prostrate stems 1-1.5 mm diam., < 1 m long; erect stems 1-1.5 mm diam., < 15 cm long (or longer if scrambling on supporting vegetation). Lvs 1-7.5 cm long; stipules 3-8-fid; leaflets 9-13, oblong, 4-17 × 2-9 mm, 7-15-toothed to base, dull green and sparsely or densely hairy on upper surface, paler, glaucescent and silky hairy on lower surface; basal leaflets usually suffused with brown; teeth penicillate. Scape 4-12 cm long, pilose; capitulum 5-8 mm diam. at flowering, 1-2 cm diam. (including spines) at fruiting; florets c. 50-60; sepals 4; stamens 2; anthers white or rose; style 1, white; achene 1. Fr. obconic, c. 3 × 1.2 mm, hairy; spines 4, pale brown, 4-9 mm long, barbed.