Leaves with petioles to c. 1.2 cm. long; lamina sub-membranous mostly 3.5–7 x 1–2.4 cm., elliptic-oblanceolate, ± obtuse at the apex and cuneate below, margins serrulate with minute callose teeth, upper surface sparsely thinly araneose-lanate to glabrescent, lower surface greyish araneose-lanate, both surfaces densely gland-dotted.
Ray-florets neuter, corollas deep-red or creamy-white, up to c. 14 mm. long, cleft almost to the base, ray erect, narrowly oblanceolate, 3-fid, sparsely glandular outside; ovary rudimentary, 4–5 mm. long, subterete or somewhat swollen near the base; pappus of many spreading chartaceous narrowly lanceolate scales 0.5–4 mm. long.
Phyllaries numerous; the outer from c. 4 mm. long, subulate-aristate, tapering into a long stiff squarrose or recurved bristle, araneose-lanate; the inner to c. 12 mm. long, linear-lanceolate, tapering to a sharply acute or somewhat aristate apex, margins minutely toothed, particularly near the apex.
Disk-floret corollas deep-red or creamy-white, tubular in the lower c. 2 mm., abruptly dilated into a deeply lobed cylindric to conical limb 4–5 mm. long, lobes to c. 4 mm. long, linear, recurved at the apex, glandular outside; anther tube reddish-purple, the conical Up exserted.
Achenes 6–8 mm. long, subcylindric, 10-ribbed with numerous stiff white hairs ± appressed in the grooves, hairs near the base of the achene shorter more robust and spreading; pappus several-seriate of numerous spreading narrowly lanceolate chartaceous scales 0.5–4 mm. long.
Capitula solitary and terminal on branches, usually also 1-3 arranged along the branches on axillary stalks shorter than the involucre; capitula subtended by a whorl of 3–6 large leaf-like bracts, bracts up to c. 5.5 x 1.7 cm., but usually smaller, exceeding the capitulum.
Stems leafy, araneose-lanate to roughly puberulous; branches ascending-divaricate, to c. 20 cm. long.
Involucres mostly 8–13 x c. 15 mm., spreading to c. 25 mm. wide, obconic-campanulate.
Receptacle deeply alveolate, the pits to c. 2.5 mm. deep, paleae absent.
An erect slender to laxly bushy annual herb, 20–35 cm. tall.