Herbs 10-35 cm tall or more, annual. Stems solitary or few, erect, divaricately branched from base or higher up, glabrous. Leaves glaucous green to glaucous; lower and middle stem leaves oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 2-5 × 1-2 cm, glabrous, base clasping stem and auriculate, margin sinuate-dentate to pinnatisect; lateral lobes 2-6 pairs; terminal lobe lanceolate to elliptic. Upper stem leaves smaller and less or not divided; uppermost stem leaves linear-lanceolate, margin entire or subentire, apex acuminate. Capitula numerous, terminal, with 8-12 florets; peduncle wiry, usually shorter than capitulum. Involucre narrowly cylindric and 7-9 mm at anthesis, longish ovoid and to 2.3 × 0.5-0.6 cm in fruit. Phyllaries glabrous, with an apical purplish spot; outer phyllaries ovate to linear-lanceolate, longest ca. 3/4 as long as inner phyllaries, apex acute; inner phyllaries ca. 5, apex subobtuse to acute. Florets pale blue to purple. Achene body pale to dark brown, obovoid, ca. 3 mm, compressed, with 1 rib on either side; beak whitish, filiform, 1-1.2 cm, base with 2 rodlike pendent appendages. Pappus 4-5 mm. Fl. and fr. May-Sep. 2n = 18.
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