Herbs, erect to decumbent or prostrate, loosely matted, not scapose, 2-6 × 1-4(-6) dm, tomentose to floccose. Stems spreading, with or without persistent leaf bases, up to 4 height of plant; caudex stems absent or spreading to matted; aerial flowering stems erect to spreading or decument to prostrate, slender, solid, not fistulose, (0.5-)1-3 dm, tomentose to floccose. Leaves 1 per node, sheathing up stems (1-)3-10(-12) cm; petiole often twisted or curled, 1-10 cm, usually tomentose; blade lanceolate or broadly lanceolate to elliptic or narrowly ovate, (1-)1.5-6(-8) × 0.6-1.5 cm, densely lanate on both surfaces or densely white-tomentose abaxially and grayish-tomentose to floccose adaxially, margins plane, rarely brownish. Inflorescences cymose, 10-30 × 50-250 cm; branches dichotomous, tomentose to floccose; bracts 3, semileaflike to leaflike, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, and 5-30 × 3-20 mm proximally, scalelike, triangular, and 1-4(-5) mm distally. Peduncles absent. Involucres 1 per node, turbinate, 3-5 × 2-3 mm, tomentose to floccose; teeth 5, erect, 0.5-1.5 mm. Flowers 3-6 mm; perianth cream to reddish, glabrous; tepals connate proximally, dimorphic, those of outer whorl oblong to oval, 3-6 × 2-4 mm, those of inner whorl oblanceolate to oblong, 4-6 × 1-2 mm; stamens included to slightly exserted, 2-5 mm; filaments pilose proximally. Achenes light brown to brown, (3.5-)4-4.5(-5) mm, glabrous.
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