Shrublet, 25–75 cm high, densely branched; root tough and fibrous; stems brown-black, the younger parts shiny brown, thinly pubescent or pilose and glandular, with densely set remnant leaf-bases.. Leaves alternate, densely set, or in fascicles on abbreviated shoots in leaf-axils, sessile, needle-shaped, 2–25 mm long, 0.3–1 mm in diameter, slightly widened at the base, thinly pubescent to glabrous, often densely glandular, with slightly sunken midrib.. Capitula terminal, solitary, but sometimes the whole plant forming a lax corymb, individual capitula 4–8 mm long; peduncle 1–10 cm long, sparsely pubescent to glabrous, often sparsely glandular, sometimes densely so near the head; phyllaries in ± 4 rows, ± 30–35, the outermost smallest, lanceolate, 1–4 mm long, 0.2–0.6 mm wide, acute, sparsely hairy, with scarious and often fimbriate margins; receptacle convex.. Ray florets 25–30, the tube ± 1 mm long, the ray pale blue-mauve, rarely whitish, 4–7 mm long and 0.9–1.1 mm wide; disc florets many, yellow, the tube 2.3–2.7 mm long, the lobes 0.2–0.5 mm long, anthers 0.7–0.9 mm long, style 2.6–3.5 mm long.. Achenes reddish brown, narrowly obovate, 1.7–2.5 mm long, 0.7–1 mm wide, ± 0.3 mm thick, densely hairy; pappus of many white, subplumose bristles 2–3 mm long.
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