Herbs 15-80 cm tall. Rhizomes ascending to procumbent. Stem solitary, erect, simple or rarely with 1 branch, base clothed with fibrous remains of petioles. Leaves glabrous or with sparse hairs, glaucous, margin often minutely ciliate. Basal leaves petiolate; leaf blade elliptic, narrowly elliptic, or ovate, tapering into petiole, 3-15 × 1.5-4 cm, margin entire, repand-crenate, or rarely pinnatilobed. Stem leaves few, sessile, lanceolate to linear, pinnatilobed or undivided, margin entire or toothed. Capitulum 1(or 2). Involucre campanulate to bowl-shaped, 1.5-2.5(-3) cm in diam. Phyllaries in 5-7 rows, apically dark brown to black; outer and middle phyllaries ovate-triangular, elliptic, or ovate-elliptic, 5-14 × 2-3 mm, apex acuminate and with a 1-3 mm spinule; inner and innermost phyllaries lanceolate to linear-lanceolate 10-20 × 1.5-3 mm. Corolla purple, (1.3-)1.6-2.3 cm. Achene brown, oblong, 4-6 mm. Pappus whitish, ca. 1.2 cm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Aug. 2n = 30.
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