Seedlings develop into rosettes, and maximal root growth occurs when the plants are rosettes. Plants that overwinter as a rosette bolt in early May producing one or rarely two stems. Flowering occurs from July through September. If moisture is adequate the seeds will germinate and develop into rosettes by fall. Each plant is capable of producing 400-900 seeds.
Mature plants break off at ground level and tumble with the wind dispersing seeds.
The seeds, held in urn-shaped heads which do not open widely, are lost gradually, giving the plant the advantage of distant distribution. Dispersal close to the parent plant is facilitated by horizontally placed involucres, which open as dehydration occurs, allowing the seeds to drop. These plants were found within sites disturbed within the last three years. A few scattered plants were found in the area of the old country club as well as in the old field area in the northwest corner of the park. All plants observed during the 1993 survey were pulled up.