Herbs, perennial, 10-30 cm tall, sometimes caespitose; rhizomes robust, with rosettes. Stems erect, simple, sparsely to densely villous, eglandular. Leaves basal and cauline; cauline leaves gradually reduced distally, abaxially sparsely pilose, villous, veins villous, adaxially glabrate proximally to villous apically, eglandular, margin remotely serrulate or entire (upper leaves), villous-ciliate, 3-veined, veins prominent; basal leaves usually present at anthesis, shortly petiolate; blade obovate to oblanceolate, 1.6-4 × 1-1.3 cm, base abruptly attenuate to attenuate, apex obtuse or rounded; middle cauline leaves ± erect, sessile, oblong to linear-lanceolate, base subclasping; upper leaves linear-lanceolate, 1-3.5 × 0.1-0.6 cm, base clasping. Capitula terminal, solitary, 3.5-5 cm in diam. Involucres hemispheric, 0.5-0.8 cm in diam.; phyllaries 2-or 3-seriate, subequal, sometimes squarrose, ovate-lanceolate, 7-8.5 × 2.5-3 mm, leaflike, margin broadly scarious, remotely erose; outer phyllaries 2.5-3 mm wide, sparsely villous proximally, glabrous distally; inner phyllaries 1.5-2 mm wide, glabrate, margin ciliate, vein sparsely villous. Ray florets 30-50, blue to purple, lamina 15-20 × ca. 2 mm, glabrous, eglandular; disk florets 3.5-4 mm, limb funnelform, ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous, lobes spreading, narrowly triangular, ca. 1 mm. Achenes broadly obovoid, compressed, ca. 2 mm, glabrous, distally strigillose and minutely stipitate glandular, margin winged, wings strigillose-ciliate apically, 4-ribbed. Pappus 2-or 3-seriate, purplish brown, bristles few, barbellate; outermost bristles 0.2-0.5 mm; inner bristles 0.8-1.2 mm, acute; innermost bristles 1.2-1.4 mm, slightly clavate. Fl Jun-Jul.
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