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Leaves alternate, sessile or subsessile, bases cuneate less often auriculate; upper surface ± scabrous, sparsely pubescent or glabrescent, the hairs scattered flagelliform often becoming somewhat rigid; lower surface pubescent or felted, sometimes finely pilose especially on the nerves, or glabrescent, glandular-punctate.
Vegetative indumentum a varying mixture of large long-stalked flagelliform hairs intermixed with short-stalked T-shaped hairs, the elongate terminal cell of the T-shaped hairs transverse and ± equal-armed, or ± excentric-ascending.
Achenes narrowly oblong-obovoid, 4–5-angular with narrow ribs on the angles, truncate to slightly rounded at the apex, faces between the ribs with large scattered brownish glandular cells, very sparsely hispid or glabrous.
Capitula homogamous, solitary or few-many in lax corymbiform cymes, or aggregated in ± dense 3-many-capitulate terminal clusters, or clusters lateral and ± scorpioidly cymose.
Perennial herbs with annual stems from small woody rootstocks; rootcrowns with or without lanate tufts; roots numerous, thong-like and usually swelling to form root-tubers.
Pappus 2-seriate, the outer of short lacerate free or ± united scales or reduced to a low rim, the inner of short very caducous barbellate setae.
Corollas purple, narrowly funnel-shaped, regularly deeply 5-lobed; lobes apically setulose or glabrous.
Anthers with a narrowly triangular hyaline appendage at the apex and short subobtuse tails at the base.
Involucres campanulate to broadly cup-shaped, occasionally subglobose or narrowly ovoid.
Pollen described as tricolporate, subechinolophate to echinate and micropunctate.
Stems erect usually branching above, leafy, sometimes scapiform.
Phyllaries imbricate, several-seriate.
Style-arms subulate, hairy outside.
Receptacle ± flat.