Herbs, perennial, (4-)18-60 cm tall, with procumbent slender rhizomes; stems erect, unbranched or upper parts few branched, usually with sterile branches at leaf axils, striate, conspicuously lanate-villous. Basal stem leaves petiolate or subsessile; leaf blade linear-oblong, linear-lanceolate, or linear-oblanceolate, (2 or)3-pinnatisect, abaxially densely villous, adaxially sparsely villous; primary segments many, 1-1.5 mm apart; ultimate segments linear to lanceolate, 0.5-2 mm, apex cartilaginous-mucronulate; middle and upper stem leaves similar, sessile, progressively smaller. Synflorescence a dense, rarely lax, flat-topped panicle. Capitula many. Involucre oblong, 4-5 × 2.5-3 mm; phyllaries in 3 or 4 rows, ovate or oblong to lanceolate, 1.5-4 × 0.8-1.5 mm, scarious, midvein yellow-green, convex, margin brown or brownish. Paleae oblong-lanceolate, scarious, margin hyaline, sparsely pilose in upper part. Ray florets 5; lamina pink or violet-red, rarely turning white, suborbicular, 2-2.5 × 2-2.2 mm. Disk florets tubular, 5-lobed. Achenes oblong-cuneate, 2-2.2 mm, with lateral ribs. Corona absent. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 18, 36.
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