Herbs 40-100 cm tall, perennial. Stem solitary, erect, apically branched, narrowly winged, arachnoid or glabrous. Basal leaves long petiolate; leaf blade ovate-elliptic to narrowly ovate-elliptic, 10-30 × 2-5 cm, abaxially grayish white or grayish green and densely arachnoid tomentose, adaxially green and glabrous, base cuneate-attenuate, margin denticulate, apex acuminate. Lower and middle stem leaves shortly petiolate or sessile; leaf blade narrowly elliptic to linear, base cuneate-attenuate and decurrent, margin denticulate, apex acuminate. Upper stem leaves sessile, linear, gradually smaller upward on stem, margin entire. Capitula numerous, in a corymbiform synflorescence, shortly pedunculate. Involucre narrowly campanulate, 6-8 mm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, villous; outer phyllaries purple, ovate, ca. 3 × 2 mm, apex acuminate to acute; middle phyllaries narrowly elliptic, ca. 7 × 2 mm, apex acute to subobtuse; inner phyllaries lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, ca. 10 × 1.5 mm, apex subobtuse. Corolla pale purple, 1-1.2 cm, tube 5-6 mm, limb 5-7 mm. Achene brown, cylindric, 3-4 mm, glabrous. Pappus dirty white; outer bristles ca. 1 mm, scabrid; inner bristles 8-10 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 26, 48, 52, 54.
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