Herbs, perennial. Rhizome short, with solitary stem or multicipital without stolons, with bundle of filiform radicals, forming small fasciculate clusters of 2 or 3 stems and sterile bundles of leaves. Stems erect and firm, (10-)15-30(-45) cm tall, ash-colored to grayish arachnoid pubescent, often subglabrous, violet or red-brown, equally and rather densely leafy. Leaves linear-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate and linear-spatulate; cauline leaves 2-6 cm × 2-10 mm, erect, lower ones long narrowed at base and often early marcescent; radical leaves in a rosette, green, linear, to 10 cm × 13 mm, pubescent to subglabrous. Synflorescence usually large, compact, corymbiform, often complexly branched, with a few separate capitula and more than 30 capitula closely aggregated into a group to 3 cm in diam., individual capitula homogeneous, 6-8 mm in diam.; bracteal leaves light green abaxially, more often greenish yellow to yellowish and light ash-colored adaxially, ovate-lanceolate or oblong, flat, to 3 cm × 10 mm, forming a star of to 7 cm in diam., densely tomentose. Capitula heterogamous or diclinous-dioecious. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Jul-Sep.
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