Herbs 20-25 cm tall. Petiole suffused purplish or ± green, whitish brown arachnoid above, ± winged; leaf blade mid-green and often ± suffused purplish, ± linear-oblanceolate, 13-20 × (2-)2.5-3(-5) cm, sparsely arachnoid, deeply pinnatisect; lateral lobes (3 or)4-6, usually linear-deltoid to linear-triangular, patent, margin subentire to minutely dentate in outer leaves but dentate and often lobulate in middle and inner ones; lobules also patent, margin sometimes dentate, apex acute to lingulate; interlobes winged, margin dentate-lobulate or rarely entire; terminal lobe flat rhombic to flat triangular, basal segments ± triangular, acute. Scapes brownish green to purplish, ± equaling leaves, arachnoid below and densely arachnoid-lanate below capitulum. Capitulum 2.5-3.5 cm wide. Involucre light green, 0.9-1.1 cm wide, base narrowly rounded. Outer phyllaries 10-12, light green to green, ± not imbricate, ± lanceolate, narrowly ovate, or sometimes to ovate, outermost ones 7-9 × 2.2-3.6 mm and 1/2-3/5 as long as inner ones, loosely appressed, distinctly veined, border not very distinct, ± membranous, to 0.5 mm wide, and sometimes suffused pink near apex, margin ciliate to sparsely so in apical part, with a dark ca. 1 mm horn near apex; inner phyllaries 1.3-1.6 cm, apex callose to corniculate. Ligules white or very pale whitish yellow; outer ligules outside ± pinkish and on both surfaces striped purplish gray; inner ligules with blackish apical teeth. Stigmas deep grayish green. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene ± straw-colored brown to light brown, 5.6-6 × 1.4-1.6 mm; body tuberculate or minutely squamulose below, densely squamulose and spinulose in upper 1/5-1/3, subgradually narrowing into a subcylindric 1-1.4 mm cone; beak 8-9 mm. Pappus yellowish, ca. 7 mm. Fl. late spring and summer. Agamosperm. 2n = 32.
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