Herbs, perennial, (15-)30-45 cm tall; rhizomes procumbent or ascending, stout. Stems erect or ascending, simple, leafy, moderately strigose and villosulous, eglandular. Leaves basal and cauline; cauline leaves slightly reduced upward, both surfaces scabrous, abaxially sparsely to moderately minutely stipitate glandular, adaxially eglandular, thick; basal leaves withered at anthesis, ascending, narrowly winged petiolate (petiole to 7 cm); blade oblanceolate or spatulate, 0.5-7 × 0.4-2.3 cm, base attenuate, margin serrate, apex obtuse to acute; lower cauline leaves withered or persistent at anthesis; cauline leaves petiolate to sessile, oblanceolate to lanceolate, 4-7 × 0.8-1.3 cm, base attenuate, often semiamplexicaul, margin serrate or entire, apex obtuse or rounded to acute; uppermost leaves erect or ± spreading, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, 2-5 × 0.5-1.5 cm, base amplexicaul, margin slightly sinuate, entire, sometimes few serrate, apex obtuse or rounded. Capitula 2-5 in terminal corymbiform synflorescences, rarely solitary, 2-3 cm in diam.; peduncles 1-3 cm; bract 1 or absent, linear-lanceolate, densely strigillose and villosulous, eglandular. Involucres hemispheric, 0.7-1.2 cm in diam.; phyllaries 3-seriate, subequal, middle area green, 7-8 × 1-1.5 mm, densely pilose, ± ?leaflike, margin scarious, slightly erose, sparsely ciliate, midvein inconspicuous, apex acute, dark purple, ciliate; outer phyllaries oblong; inner phyllaries lanceolate. Ray florets 22-28, blue-purple, tube glabrous, eglandular, lamina 15-18 × 2.2-2.5 mm, glabrous, eglandular; disk florets yellow, 5-6 × 3.5-4.5 mm, proximally sparsely hairy, lobes spreading, triangular, 1.2-2 mm. Achenes broadly obovoid, ± compressed, ca. 3 × 2 mm, moderately strigillose, sparsely minutely stipitate glandular distally, margin densely strigillose-ciliate, 2-ribbed. Pappus 4-seriate, straw-colored or sometimes purplish, bristles barbellate throughout; outermost bristles few, slender, ca. 1 mm; outer bristles few, slender, 2-2.5 mm; inner bristles 4-4.5 mm, acute; innermost bristles ca. 5 mm, ± clavate. Fl. Aug-Oct.
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