Perennials 10–80 cm (colonial or cespitose, eglandular; with branched rhizomes or with ± cormoid, branched, woody caudices. Stems 1–5+, ascending to erect (grayish brown to brown), moderately to densely hairy. Leaves (light grayish green) firm, margins entire, strigose, apices ± spine-tipped; basal withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 10–40 × 3–10 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, rounded to mucronulate-spinose, faces glabrate to moderately strigose; proximal cauline sessile, blades linear oblanceolate to oblong, 10–40(–60) × 1.5–4(–7) mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, coarsely ciliate, apices acute or obtuse, faces sparsely to densely appressed hispido-strigose; distal sessile, blades linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate, 25–45 × 2–3 mm, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, faces moderately to densely strigose. Heads [(1–)10–200+] in racemiform to diffuse-paniculiform arrays (1–10+ per branch, usually not crowded). Peduncles 0.2–4 cm, densely hairy, bracts 1–3+, linear to lanceolate, densely hairy. Involucres campanulate, (4.5–)5–8 mm. Phyllaries in 3–4 series, outer oblanceolate to spatulate (1.5–2 mm), inner linear-lanceolate (3–4 mm), unequal, bases (whitish to tan) ± indurate in basal 1 / 2 – 3 / 4 , margins hyaline, scabrous proximally, green zones diamond-shaped, in distal 1 / 4 – 1 / 2 , apices (outer) acute to obtuse, clear spine-tipped, spreading to reflexed, (inner) acuminate to attenuate, faces sparsely to moderately hispid-strigose. Ray florets (15–)20–35; corollas usually white, sometimes blue or pink, laminae (8–)18–30 × 1.1–1.4 mm. Disc florets (8–)18–30; corollas yellow becoming brown, 2–2.5 mm, lobes triangular, 0.7–1.2 mm, glabrous. Cypselae dark brown, obovoid, not compressed, 2–2.5 mm, faint-nerved, faces densely strigose; pappi whitish, 4.5–6 mm.
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