Annual herb 10-60(-120) cm tall; stems erect, branched or unbranched, pubescent with short T-shaped hairs. Lower leaves ovate to slightly obovate, elliptic or trullate, 1-8 cm long, 0.5-4 cm wide, broadly cuneate and attenuate into a petioloid base, minutely to coarsely sinuate-serrate, apex rounded to obtuse, rarely acute or shortly acuminate, apiculate, sparsely pubescent mostly on veins and ± glabrescent beneath, ± glabrescent above, densely glandular. Capitula in rather lax divaricate compound terminal corymbiform cymes; stalks of individual capitula slender, sparsely ascending-pubescent; involucre ovoid to cylindrical, 2.5-5 mm long, 2-2.5 mm in diameter at flowering time; phyllaries 3-seriate, often tinged purplish at the tips, elliptic or lanceolate, 1.5-4.5 mm long, acute or obtuse and apiculate, pubescent, glandular. Corolla purple or mauve, rarely white with faint pink tinge, 2.3-5 mm long, lobes 0.7-1.5 mm long, long-hairy below apex. Achenes cylindric, 1.3-2 mm long, shortly ascending-pubescent; outer pappus of a rim of short distinct or ± confluent oblong rounded or subtruncate fimbriate scales 0.1-0.2 mm long, inner pappus white, 2.5-4 mm long.
