Herbs 30-40 cm tall, perennial. Stems erect, unbranched or little branched, ribbed, unwinged, with sparse long bristles, also cobwebby above. Leaves undivided, concolorous, green, surface smooth, glabrous or with multicellular hairs. Lower cauline leaves sessile and semiamplexicaul or narrowed into a petiole to 2.5 cm; leaf blade elliptic to lanceolate, 7-8 × 1.5-2 cm, margin fringed with 1-2 mm spinules, apex acute and spine-tipped. Middle and upper cauline leaves similar but gradually smaller upward. Capitula 1 to few. Involucre campanulate, 1.5-2 cm in diam., glabrous or sparsely cobwebby. Phyllaries imbricate, in ca. 7 rows, lacking marginal spinules, wings, and scarious appendage, all or only inner phyllaries abaxially with a resinous gland; outer and middle phyllaries triangular to lanceolate, 3-10 × 1-2 mm, apex acute and tipped with an acumen less than 0.5 mm; inner phyllaries elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 12-15 × 1.5-2 mm, apex acuminate and scarious. Florets bisexual. Corolla purple, ca. 1.9 cm, tube ca. 9 mm. Achene brown, 3.5-4 mm, ribbed. Pappus bristles brownish, ca. 1.5 cm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Sep.
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