Herbs 40-100 cm tall, perennial, broomlike, basally sometimes woody. Stem basally erect-spreadingly and higher up densely and intricately divaricately branched; branches slender, glabrous, ± leafy. Lower stem leaves linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 3-7 × 0.2-0.5 cm, early deciduous, glabrous, margin entire or sometimes very scarcely dentate, apex acute. Middle and upper stem leaves linear-lanceolate to filiform, usually shorter and only 1-1.5 mm wide, otherwise like lower stem leaves. Capitula with ca. 5 florets. Involucre 1.2-1.4 cm, glabrous or sparsely arachnoid hairy especially basally. Phyllaries green to yellowish green; outer phyllaries broadly triangular-ovate, 1-2 mm; inner phyllaries 5. Achene cylindric, 5-7 mm, without or very faintly with scales or tubercles, without apical corona of scales, apically shortly attenuate into a rudimentary stout beak of 0.1-0.3 mm without articulation. Pappus 6-8 mm. Fl. and fr. May-Sep. 2n = 10.
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