Herbs 20-70 cm tall, perennial, with a ?rhizome or ?shoot-bearing roots. Stem solitary, erect, unbranched or with simple branches from ca. middle third, glabrous, usually leafy. Basal and lower stem leaves ovate, triangular-ovate, or lanceolate, 5-15 × 1-5 cm, glabrous, base attenuate or contracted into a 3-9 cm, broadly and long or narrowly and short cuneately winged petiole-like portion, margin ± mucronulately sinuate-dentate, apex acute to acuminate. Middle and upper stem leaves narrowly ovate, lanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, gradually smaller upward on stem, base attenuate into a gradually shorter cuneately winged petiole-like portion, apex acuminate to long acuminate, otherwise similar to basal leaves. Synflorescence of stem and branches secundly racemiform (occasionally of stem narrowly paniculiform), with few to many drooping capitula. Capitula with 10-20 florets; peduncle wiry, usually 0.2-2 cm. Involucre narrowly campanulate, 1-1.3 cm. Phyllaries abaxially usually glabrous; outer phyllaries narrowly triangular to lanceolate, longest 1/4-1/3 as long as inner ones, apex obtuse to acute; inner phyllaries 8-10, midvein of single phyllaries subapically sometimes crested and/or corniculate, apex acute to obtuse and pale brownish ciliate. Anther tube yellow. Style strongly exserted, greenish black upon drying. Achene brown, ± cylindric, 4-5 mm, with 5 main ribs and 2 or 3 secondary ribs in between but otherwise ± smooth, apex truncate. Pappus yellowish to pale brown, 7-9 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Sep.
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