Shrubs, subshrubs, or herbs, spreading to erect, not scapose, (1-)1.5-5 × 2-5(-8) dm, glabrous or rarely floccose to tomentose, grayish. Stems spreading or erect, usually without persistent leaf bases, up to 1/ 2 or more height of plant; caudex stems absent or matted to spreading; aerial flowering stems spreading to erect, slender, solid, not fistulose, 0.3-3 dm, glabrous or, rarely, floccose to tomentose, tomentose among leaves. Leaves basal or cauline on proximal 2 of stem, 1 per node; petiole 0.5-2 cm, tomentose to floccose or glabrous; blade narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate to elliptic, 1.5-7(-9) × 0.2-2 cm, velvety-to densely white-tomentose abaxially, sparsely tomentose to thinly floccose or glabrous and green adaxially, margins plane or occasionally crenulate. Inflorescences cymose, dense to more commonly open, 2-25 × 2-20 cm; branches dichotomous, glabrous or, rarely, floccose; bracts 3, scalelike, usually triangular, and 1-3 mm, or occasionally leaflike, 8-30 mm, and otherwise similar to leaf blades. Peduncles absent or erect, 0.1-0.8 cm, glabrous. Involucres 1 per node or 2-5 per cluster, turbinate to turbinate-campanulate, 2.5-4 × (1.3-)1.5-3.5(-4) mm, glabrous; teeth 5, erect, 0.4-0.9 mm. Flowers 2-3.5(-4) mm; perianth white, glabrous; tepals connate proximal 1/ 1/ 3, monomorphic, oblanceolate, elliptic to oblong or obovate; stamens exserted, 2-4 mm; filaments pilose proximally. Achenes light brown to brown, 2-3 mm, glabrous except (typically) for slightly papillate beak.
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