Herbs 12-35 cm tall, perennial, sometimes laxly caespitose. Stems solitary or several, erect, simple, arachnoid. Basal and lower stem leaves petiolate; petiole 2-10 cm; leaf blade obovate, narrowly obovate, or narrowly elliptic, (1.5-)4.5-11 × 0.9-5 cm, both surfaces pale green and sparsely arachnoid, base cuneate to attenuate, margin coarsely dentate to pinnately lobed, apex rounded, obtuse, or subacute and mucronate. Middle and upper stem leaves few, petiolate; leaf blade narrowly elliptic to linear, gradually smaller upward on stem, margin triangular-dentate to entire. Capitulum solitary, terminal on stem. Involucre campanulate, 1-1.5(-2) cm in diam. Phyllaries in 4-6 rows, blackish purple, arachnoid; outer phyllaries elliptic, ca. 12 × 4-6 mm, apex long acuminate; middle phyllaries narrowly elliptic, ca. 1.8 × 0.4-0.5 cm, apex obtuse; inner phyllaries narrowly elliptic to linear, ca. 1.8 × 0.2 cm, apex caudate-acuminate. Corolla blackish purple to bluish purple, 1.2-1.5 cm, tube 3-6 mm, limb ca. 9 mm. Achene brown, cylindric, ca. 5 mm, glabrous. Pappus pale brown; outer bristles ca. 1 mm, scabrid; inner bristles ca. 1.2 cm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct.
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