Herbs (10-)15-35 cm tall, perennial, polycarpic. Caudex stout, simple or few branched, covered with remains of petioles. Stem solitary, 4-6 mm in diam., erect, simple. Basal and lower stem leaves petiolate; petiole to 4 cm; leaf blade linear, 5-18 × 0.2-0.8 cm, abaxially light or grayish green, sericeous, tomentose, and gland-dotted, adaxially dark green and glabrous or sericeous-villous, margin slightly revolute and entire or denticulate, apex acuminate. Middle and upper stem leaves sessile, linear, 5-10 × 0.2-0.8 cm. Uppermost stem leaves stellately arranged, overtopping synflorescence, narrowly triangular-linear, 1.5-6 × 0.4-0.8 cm, apex acuminate. Capitula 10-15, in a hemispheric synflorescence 3-6 cm in diam., sessile. Involucre campanulate, 0.8-1.2 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, blackish, apex caudate to acuminate; outer phyllaries narrowly triangular-ovate, 9-11 × 2.5-3 mm; middle phyllaries narrowly elliptic, 7-9 × 2-2.5 mm; inner phyllaries linear, 8-9 × 1-1.5 mm. Receptacle bristles 5-6 mm. Corolla bluish purple, 7-9 mm, tube 4-5 mm, limb 3-4 mm, lobes ca. 2 mm. Achene dark brown, obconic, 3-5 mm, smooth, glabrous. Pappus brown; outer bristles 2-4 mm; inner bristles 6-8 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 34*.
Home