Erect herb, with strict ascending, sparsely pubescent striate branches, terminating in solitary or subsolitary capitula. Leaves (cauline) alternate or rarely subopposite, linear-oblong or elongate-lanceolate, mucronate, with a wide sessile somewhat clasping base, submembranous, quite entire, thinly strigillose on both sides or glabrate, 1-obscurely 3-nerved, ranging up to 3 in. long by 3/8 in. broad. Capitula hemispherical, ∞-flowered, 1/4–1 in. diameter, on erect strigose-hispid peduncles 1–5 in. long. Scales of involucre subbiseriate, narrowly linear-lanceolate, acute, pilose with whitish spreading rather stiff and broad hairs; inner ones rather more and outer ones rather less than 1/4 in. long. Receptacle naked, 1/4 in. diameter. Ray-fl. 1-seriate, purple, not broader than involucral scales and exceeding them by about the length of the latter, erect-patent. Interior female fl. tubular-filiform, numerous. Achenes narrowly obovoid-oblong, compressed, with 2 strong lateral nerves, thinly pilose. Pappus uniseriate, subrufous, barbellate, twice length of achene.
