Herbs 30-120 cm tall, perennial. Stem solitary, erect, apically branched, sparsely arachnoid or glabrescent. Basal leaves usually withered at anthesis. Lower and middle stem leaves petiolate; petiole 3-8 cm; leaf blade narrowly triangular-ovate, 9-12 × 4-6.5 cm, abaxially white and densely arachnoid lanate, adaxially green and glabrous, base cordate, hastate, or truncate, margin dentate, apex acuminate. Upper stem leaves petiolate to subsessile; leaf blade triangular-ovate to narrowly ovate-elliptic, gradually smaller upward on stem. Uppermost leaves linear, subtending synflorescence. Capitula in a corymbiform synflorescence, pedunculate. Involucre campanulate, (0.6-)1-1.2 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 6 or 7 rows, white lanate; outer phyllaries ovate, ca. 4 × 2 mm, apex acuminate and with a dark purple mucro; middle phyllaries elliptic to ovate-elliptic, ca. 7 × 3 mm, apex acute to subobtuse; inner phyllaries linear, ca. 10 × 1.5 mm, apex acute. Corolla purple, 1-1.2(-1.4) cm, tube 5-6 mm, limb 5-6 mm. Achene brown, cylindric, ca. 5 mm, glabrous. Pappus white; outer bristles ca. 4 mm, scabrid; inner bristles 9-10 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 26*.
Home