Herbs, erect to slightly spreading, 3-8(-10) × 0.5-1.5 dm, tomen-tose to floccose or rarely glabrous, grayish. Stems spread-ing to erect, without persistent leaf bases, up to 6 height of plant; caudex stems absent; aerial flowering stems erect to slightly spreading, slender to stout, solid, not fistulose, (1-)1.5-2.5(-3) dm, tomentose to floccose, rarely glabrous. Leaves basal, 1 per node; petiole (2-)3-10(-15) cm, tomentose to floccose; blade elliptic to ovate or oval to nearly rotund, (1.5-)2-6(-10) × 1-4(-5) cm, lanate to thinly tomentose abaxially, floccose or glabrous and green adaxially, margins plane. Inflorescences virgate or racemose with involucres racemosely disposed throughout or at tips, 15-50 × 05-20 cm, tomentose, rarely glabrous; branches dichotomous, upper secondaries suppressed and bearing 5-20(-30) racemosely arranged involucres; bracts 3, scalelike, triangular, and (1-)2.5-7 mm, or leaflike, linear-oblanceolate or oblanceolate to elliptic, and 10-40 × 5-20(-25) mm. Peduncles absent or erect, stout, 0.3-4 cm, tomentose to floccose. Involucres 1 per node, turbinate to turbinate-campanulate, (2-)3-5 × (2-)2.5-4 mm, tomentose to floccose; teeth 5, erect, (0.1-)0.2-0.5 mm. Flowers (2-)2.5-5 mm; perianth white to pinkish, glabrous; tepals connate proximal 4, monomorphic, oblong; stamens exserted, 2-5 mm; filaments pilose proximally. Achenes light brown, 3-4 mm, glabrous. 2n = 36.
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