Large herbs to 5 m tall; stems villous-tomentose, faintly ridged. Leaves opposite, ovate, to 15 cm long, apically acuminate or acute, basally acuminate, acute or obtuse, the margins crenate-serrate, 3-veined from well above the base, above scabridulous with ascending, stout based hairs, softly tomentose beneath; petioles thin-winged and appearing canaliculate, articulating at the base and leaving conspicuous annular ridges on the stem. Inflorescence paniculate, some-what rounded or flat-topped, several-many-headed; peduncles bracteolate. Heads showy, yellow, radiate, to 6 cm across; involucral bracts numerous in several graded series, loosely imbricate, lanceolate, the innermost ca. 10 mm long, apically acute and callose-mucronulate, the veins obscure, indurate but remaining evenly green, puberulent with appressed or ascending hairs; paleas scarious, conduplicate around the floret, the apex with a ligulate appendage, 10-11 mm long; receptacle slightly convex; ray florets several in 1 series, the corollas yellow, 15-20 mm long, broad, emarginate, the veins pubescent, the style wanting, the ovary trigonous, pappus with 3-4 awns and a row of short hairs; disc florets numerous, the corolla tubular, ca. 15 mm long, the tube glabrous, ca. 3 mm long, slightly expanded into a cylindrical limb, the 5 lobes dorsally puberulent, the anthers and appendages black, narrowly deltoid, 4 mm long, basally auriculate but the filaments darkened and thickened to give a truncate appearance, the style apically puberulent, the branches with a short, pubescent apicule, the base immersed in a cylindrical, 1 mm tall, apically erose nectary, the ovary laterally flattened, pilose with long ascending hairs. Achene black, ca. 5 mm long, compressed with a suggestion of wings, glabrate; pappus a dense thick ring of basally concrescent hairs and two strigose, easily detached awns.
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