Herbs, annual, 35-50 cm tall. Stems erect, striate, ± densely strigose or hispid, strigillose, usually branched from middle, branches ascending. Leaves: basal and lower cauline withered by anthesis, long petiolate, ovate or obovate-oblong, 5-6 × 2.5-3.5 cm, 3-veined, base attenuate, margin roughly crenate, apex obtuse or acute; middle cauline leaves sessile, abaxially pale green, adaxially green, narrowly oblong, 6-8 × 1-2 cm, strigose or adaxially glabrate, abaxial veins strigose, midvein and lateral veins slightly conspicuous on both surfaces, base gradually attenuate, margin coarsely serrate in upper part or entire, strigose-ciliate, apex obtuse or acute; upper leaves gradually smaller, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 1-1.5 × ca. 0.3 cm, margin entire, 1-veined. Capitula terminal, solitary on branches, 30-50 mm in diam. Involucres hemispheric, 13-18 mm in diam.; phyllaries 2-or 3-seriate, leaflike, linear-lanceolate, 7-8 mm, apex acuminate, hispid, glandular, inner margin scarious in lower part. Ray florets blue-purple, tube ca. 1.8 mm, lamina linear-oblong, 14-17(-27) × 2-2.5 mm, apex 3-toothed or entire; disk florets yellow, ca. 5 mm, tube 1-1.5 mm, sparsely hairy, lobes unequal, 0.8-1.2 mm. Achenes of ray florets narrow, sterile, of disk oblong-obovate, compressed, densely silky. Pappus of ray florets few, short or sometimes absent, of disk florets reddish to reddish brown, of 25-35 bristles, 2-4.45 mm, unequal. Fl. Aug-Sep.
Home