Perennials, 7–25 cm; taprooted, caudices woody, branches usually vertical or horizontal (2–10 cm), sheathed by persistent leaf bases. Stems erect, sparsely to moderately hispidulous to hirsute, minutely glandular to stipitate-glandular. Leaves basal (persistent) and cauline; basal blades sometimes 3-nerved, broadly oblanceolate to obovate or spatulate, 20–90(–120) × 5–25 mm, margins entire or denticulate, faces moderately hirsuto-villous, stipitate-glandular; cauline blades smaller, narrower, relatively even-sized distally (bases subclasping). Heads 1(–5) (on branches from proximal axils). Involucres 5–8 × 7–14 mm. Phyllaries in 2–3 series, sparsely to moderately hirsuto-villous, stipitate-glandular. Ray florets 20–45; corollas usually blue to purplish, sometimes white or pink, 5–12 mm, laminae coiling. Disc corollas 3–4.3 mm. Cypselae flattened, 1.8–2 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 12–16 bristles.
