Herbs, perennial, 0.8-1 m tall or more. Rhizomes robust, obliquely ascending or procumbent, with fibrous roots. Stems erect, multibranched, angled, white villous. Basal leaves withered by anthesis, subsessile or shortly petiolate, lower leaves oblong-obovate, 8-20 × 3-5 cm, abaxially densely villous and glandular, adaxially rugose and verrucose, sparsely or densely puberulent, basally progressively attenuate into winged, rather amplexicaul petiole, margin mucronate-serrate, rarely entire, apex acute; upper leaves elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 7-8 × 1.5-2 cm; uppermost very small. Synflorescence laxly corymbose, aggregated into compound heads, surrounded by 3 leaflike bracts; bracts green, ovate-cordate. Capitula 12-20; peduncle slender, long. Involucre oblong, 8-10 × 1.5-2 mm; phyllaries green or sometimes apically purple-red, outer 4 lanceolate-oblong, 4-5 mm, glabrous or subglabrous, 1-veined, apex acute, inner 4 elliptic-oblong, 7-8 mm, sparsely adpressed shortly hairy and glandular, 3-veined, apex acute. Florets 4, white, funnelform, 5-6 mm, with slender tube; lobes lanceolate, glabrous. Achenes oblong-linear, ca. 3 mm, 10-ribbed, puberulent. Pappus sordid white, of 5 basally widened bristles. Fl. Aug-May. 2n = 22*.
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Stems stout, 3–8 dm, hirsute or villous; lvs basal, prostrate in a rosette, broadly elliptic to obovate-oblong, 10–25 × 3–10 cm, obtuse or rounded, crenate, gradually narrowed to the sessile base, softly villous beneath with spreading or somewhat retrorse hairs; infl divaricately branched, usually with 3–10 glomerules; bracts triangular-ovate, equaling or barely surpassing the glomerules; invol 9–13 mm, its bracts thinly strigose and sparsely resinous; pappus-bristles gradually dilated into a narrowly triangular base; 2n=22. Open, sandy woods; coastal plain from se. Va. to Fla. and Tex., n. to the interior of Ky., and s. to Chiapas. Aug., Sept.
Plants (1–)3–6+ dm. Leaves mostly basal at flowering; blades usually obovate to oblanceolate or spatulate (rarely ± orbiculate), 3–8(–10+) cm × 4–12(–25+) mm (including petioles), abaxial faces ± densely pilose, adaxial sparsely pilose to hirsute. Bracts rounded-cordate, 8–15(–20+) × 7–15(–18+) mm. Inner phyllaries 9–11+ mm, pilosulous, hairs 0.3–0.6(–0.9) mm. Cypselae (3–)4–5 mm; pappi 6–8 mm. 2n = 22.
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