Herbs, perennial, 5-20(-60) cm tall; rhizomes robust, collar clad by marcescent leaf remains. Stems erect or ascending, ± stout, densely villous (hairs with purple crosswalls), densely leafy. Leaves basal and cauline, thin, villous (crosswalls yellow in basal leaves, purple in upper leaves), margin sparsely mucronulate, entire in upper leaves, densely villous; basal and lower cauline leaves broadly winged petiolate; blade spatulate or oblanceolate, 2-5 × 0.6-1.7 cm, base attenuate, apex rounded; upper leaves oblanceolate, oblong, lanceolate, or ovate, 1.5-4 × 0.7-1.3 cm, base rounded, apex obtuse to acute, mucronate; uppermost leaves dense, surrounding capitula. Capitula terminal, solitary, 5-6 cm in diam. Involucres 1.5-2.5 cm in diam.; phyllaries 3-seriate, subequal, leaflike, abaxially sparsely villous, margin sparsely to densely villous-ciliate (purple to brown crosswalls); outer phyllaries ovate to lanceolate, 10-12 × 3-6 mm; inner phyllaries lanceolate to oblong, 2-3 mm wide. Ray florets 25-30, blue or purplish, tube ca. 2.5 mm, lamina 10-20 × 1-2 mm; disk florets yellow, 5.7-7.5 mm, tube 1.8-2.4 mm, distal tube and limb base hairy, limb narrowly funnelform, lobes lanceolate, 1-1.5 mm, tip purple. Achenes pale brown, oblanceolate, compressed, 3-3.2 × ca. 1.5 mm, sparsely strigose, not winged, 2-ribbed. Pappus 3-seriate, yellowish at base, brown distally; bristles barbellate throughout, stout; outermost series of short bristles or scales ca. 0.3 mm; inner bristles 3-4 mm, acute; innermost bristles ca. 5.5 mm, clavate. Fr. Aug-Oct.
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