Annual or biennial herb 20–70 cm high, sparsely to densely branched; stems sometimes slightly woody proximally, sparsely pubescent to slightly hispid; plant occasionally recorded as aromatic. Leaves very dense and opposite near the base, occasionally resembling a rosette, alternate more distally, sessile, narrowly elliptic or lanceolate, 1.5–7.5 cm long, 0.2–1 cm wide, base cuneate, margins slightly inrolled and entire, rarely denticulate, apex obtuse or acute, sparsely pilose especially on midrib and margins. Capitula hemispherical, in lax corymbs, 3–6 mm long, 7–11 mm in diameter (to 21 mm with rays); peduncles of corymbs 0.5–4.5 cm long and thinly pubescent, stalks of individual heads 0.2–0.8 cm long, pubescent, occasionally glandular; phyllaries ± 25–28, in 2–3 series, the outermost smallest, linear to lanceolate, 2–3.5 mm long, 0.2–0.8 mm wide, acute, sparsely pilose to pubescent, with scarious margins; receptacle convex. Ray florets uniseriate, tube 1.5–2 mm long, ray pale blue-pink fading to white, 4–5 mm long and 0.8–1.1 mm wide, obtuse or slightly retuse at the apex, style 2.3–2.8 mm long; disc florets many (> 40), yellow or cream, tube 2.5 mm long, lobes 0.4 mm long; anthers ± 1.2 mm long; style 2.8–3.5 mm long and bulbous at the base. Achenes obovoid, 1–1.5 mm long, 0.4–0.7 mm wide, 0.2–0.3 mm thick, setulose; pappus white, subplumose, 1.5–2 mm long.
