Rhizome slender or somewhat thickish; runner ca. 12 cm, or rarely to 20 cm. Stems erect or ascending, 20-50 cm, slender or thickish, simple, rarely with erect flowering branches after efflorescence, herbaceous or woody at base, white or pallid arachnoid tomentose, or lower parts somewhat glabrous. Lower leaves dense or upper leaves lax; rosette leaves broadly spatulate-elliptic, lower part attenuate and becoming a long stalk, usually densely lanate. Lower leaves caducous and lost by anthesis, spatulate or lanceolate-elliptic, with winged stalk, 5-16 × 1-6 cm; middle leaves slightly smaller, somewhat spreading, base attenuate, decurrent on stem and becoming a wide or narrow wing, margin flat, apex acute or rarely acuminate, with mucro or long cusp; upper leaves small, lanceolate-linear; all leaves white or pallid arachnoid hairy with tentacles, lanate, or glabrous abaxially, cauliferous lanate and easily deciduous arachnoid adaxially, 3-or 5-veined, lateral veins conspicuous and reaching margin or disappearing at margin, or 1-veined. Capitula numerous, dense, compound corymbiform; peduncle slender. Involucre campanulate or narrowly campanulate, 5-6 × ca. 5 mm; phyllaries ca. 5-seriate; outer phyllaries light or dark brownish, ovate, ca. 2 mm, lanate; middle ones white or yellow-white, ca. 5 mm, apex broadly rounded in male florets, ca. 2.5 mm wide, apex obtuse or acute in female florets, ca. 1.5 mm wide; innermost ones slightly narrow and short, spatulate or oblong, with a claw ca. 2/3 of full length. Receptacle with fimbrillate appendage. Center of predominantly female capitula with female florets and 3 or 4 male florets; predominantly male capitula with male florets only or 3 or 4 female florets present in outer layer. Corolla 3-3.5 mm. Pappus slightly longer than corolla, incrassate at tip of apex in male florets, serrulate. Achene ca. 1 mm, villosulous. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Oct.
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