Herbs, perennial, 10-50 cm tall, sometimes caespitose; rhizomes robust, woody. Stems erect, simple, densely pilose proximally and apically, sparsely to moderately so at midstem, moderately to densely minutely stipitate glandular, usually regularly leafy. Leaves basal and cauline; cauline leaves slightly and gradually reduced upward, sparsely to moderately pilose or glabrous, veins villous abaxially, margin sparsely shallowly serrate or serrulate, sometimes entire, pilose-ciliate, triplinerved abaxially, veins slightly prominent; basal leaves usually withered at anthesis, long petiolate (petiole to 4 cm); blade spatulate to obovate or oblanceolate, 1-6 × 0.6-3.5 cm, base attenuate, apex rounded to obtuse; lower and middle cauline leaves sessile, ovate or ovate-lanceolate to oblong, 2-7 × 0.5-3 cm, base rounded or attenuate, subclasping, apex rounded to acute; upper leaves ovate to linear-lanceolate, 1-3.5 × 0.2-1.8 cm. Capitula terminal, solitary, 3-7.5 cm in diam. Involucres hemispheric, 1-2 cm in diam., overtopping disk florets; phyllaries 2-or 3-seriate, subequal, squarrose, 10-13 × 1-4 mm, sparsely pilose to glabrate, sometimes inner phyllaries sparsely minutely stipitate glandular distally, margin whitish, pilose-ciliate; outer phyllaries linear-lanceolate to oblong, leaflike, apex acute to obtuse; inner phyllaries linear-lanceolate to linear, apex long acuminate. Ray florets 30-60, blue to purplish, tube less than ca. 1 mm, lamina 15-35 × 1-3 mm, glabrous, eglandular; disk florets orange becoming reddish, 3.5-5 mm, limb funnelform becoming ± campanulate distally, 2.5-4 mm, glabrous, lobes spreading, narrowly triangular, 0.8-1.5 mm. Achenes obovoid, ± compressed, 2.5-4 mm, glabrous, sparsely minutely stipitate glandular apically, margin winged, 2-ribbed, plus sometimes 2-or 3-ribbed on each side. Pappus series reduced, indistinguishable, sometimes basally fused, purple brown to brown; bristles flattened, barbellate throughout, 1-4 mm, acute. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Aug-Oct.
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