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Leaves discolorous, softly coriaceous, sessile, mostly 7–150 x 15–55 mm., narrowly to broadly elliptic, acute to obtuse at the apex, ± broadly cuneate below tapering into a ± deeply cleft stem-sheathing base 10–35 mm. long; margins sparsely callose-denticulate; upper surface green, glabrous; lower surface white araneose (the indumentum sometimes peeling off); strongly 3–5-nerved from the base, tertiary venation finely reticulate and subprominent on both surfaces or obscured by indumentum below.
Phyllaries green chartaceous glabrous, sharply serrulate-ciliolate, apparently dimorphic; the outer c. 7 series straight, loosely diverging, the outermost extending briefly onto the capitulum stalk, from c. 7 mm. long outside to c. 35 mm. long inside, subulate-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, broadly scarious-winged in the lowerpart, inrolled and long-acuminate pungent above; the inner 1-2 series shorter, to c. 17 mm. long, lorate, distinctly scarious-winged and cuspidate at the apex.
Corollas creamy or brownish with purplish lobes, 8–12 mm. long, narrowly infundibuliform; lobes 5–6 mm. long, linear erect; achenes 1.5–2.5 mm. long, turbinate, densely long ascending hispid; pappus copious, several seriate, of plumose white setae 9–11 mm. long, shorter on the outside, seta bristles c. 1 mm. long.
Capitula 2–15, subsessile or shortly stalked, 2–6 clustered at the stem apex, usually with 1–3 in the axils of upper leaves.
An erect slender perennial herb, 25–70 cm. tall from a woody rootstock; roots numerous spreading thong-like.
Involucres mostly 25–40 mm. long, 20–30 mm. in diam. in upper part, obconic.
Stems annual, usually single, simple, leafy, thinly whitish araneose.
