Biennials, 50–180 cm; taproots short with many slender, fibrous lateral roots. Stems usually single, erect, glabrous to ± tomentose, sometimes sparsely villous with septate trichomes; branches few, usually distal, ascending. Leaves: blades linear to oblanceolate or elliptic, 10–30 × 1–5 cm, unlobed and spinulose to irregularly dentate or pinnatifid, lobes narrowly to broadly triangular, sometimes coarsely toothed or lobed toward base, acuminate, main spines slender, 1–5 mm, abaxial faces gray-tomentose, adaxial glabrous or sparsely villous with septate trichomes; basal often present at flowering, petioles slender, winged, bases long-tapered; principal cauline relatively few (10–25), petiolate or distal sessile, mostly restricted to proximal 1/2 of stems, progressively reduced distally, bases tapered, not decurrent; distal cauline widely separated, linear to narrowly elliptic, reduced, becoming ± bractlike, merely spinulose to irregularly dentate or shallowly lobed. Heads (1–)2–9(–many), in paniculiform arrays. Peduncles slender, 1–15 cm (not overtopped by distal leaves. . Involucres narrowly ovoid to campanulate, 1.2–2 × 1.2–2 cm, thinly arachnoid-ciliate. Phyllaries in 7–10 series, imbricate, green, linear to lanceolate (outer) or linear to linear-lanceolate (inner), abaxial faces with narrow, glutinous ridge; outer and middle ascending to appressed, bodies entire, apices widely spreading (at least the outer), spines ascending to spreading (at least the outer), slender, 1–4 mm; apices of inner phyllaries flat, often twisted, acuminate. Corollas pink-purple (white), 15–20 mm, tubes 5–9 mm, throats 5–7 mm (noticeably wider than tubes. , lobes 4–5 mm; style tips 4 mm. Cypselae light brown, 3–4 mm, apical collars yellowish, 0.5–1 mm; pappi 12–14 mm. 2n = 20, 22.
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Slender, fibrous-rooted biennial 5–15(–18) dm; stem glabrous or arachnoid, sometimes more evidently tomentose when young; lvs closely white-tomentose beneath, glabrous or hirsute on the upper surface, from merely spinose-ciliate and up to ca 2.5 cm wide to evidently pinnatifid and to 5 cm wide, the basal ones to 3 dm, the cauline relatively few, mostly 10–25, 8–15 cm and (except when lobed) seldom more than 1.5 cm wide, narrow-based, reduced upward; heads (1–) several, on long, naked peduncles terminating the branches; invol 1.5–2 cm, its middle and outer bracts with a glutinous dorsal ridge and a slender, suberect or spreading spine 1.5–4 mm, theinner merely attenuate and commonly crisped; fls pink-purple; achenes 3–4 mm; 2n=20. Open woods and dry, sandy soil; s. O. to the mts. of N.C., Ga., and Ala., w. to Mo. and Tex. May, June. (C. flaccidum)
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