Plants to 90 cm (roots fusiform to elongate-turbinate, branched). Herbage sparsely to densely hairy (hairs appressed to ascending). Stems usually yellowish green (usually not branched). Basal leaves: petioles 0–15 cm; blades (3-) or 5-nerved, usually linear or lanceolate, rarely ovate, 5–35 × 0.5–2(–2.5) cm, bases usually attenuate, margins entire (usually ciliate). Peduncles (2–)10–30 cm. Phyllaries lanceolate to ovate, 7–12 × 1–4 mm. Receptacles: paleae 10–14 mm, tips red to orange, often incurved, sharp-pointed. Ray corollas yellow (var. paradoxa) or pinkish to white (var. neglecta), laminae reflexed, 30–70 × 3–8 mm, sparsely hairy abaxially. Discs ovoid to conic, 2–3.5 × 2–3.5 cm. Disc corollas 4.5–6.2 mm, lobes pinkish to yellowish. Cypselae tan or bicolored (with distal dark brown band), 4–5.5 mm, faces ± tuberculate, usually glabrous (angles of ray cypselae hairy distally in var. neglecta); pappi to ca. 1.2 mm (major teeth 0–4).