Perennial herbs with annual stems from small woody rootstocks; rootcrowns with or without lanate tufts; roots numerous, thong-like and usually swelling to form root-tubers. Vegetative indumentum a varying mixture of large long-stalked flagelliform hairs intermixed with short-stalked T-shaped hairs, the elongate terminal cell of the T-shaped hairs transverse and ± equal-armed, or ± excentric-ascending. Stems erect usually branching above, leafy, sometimes scapiform. Leaves alternate, sessile or subsessile, bases cuneate less often auriculate; upper surface ± scabrous, sparsely pubescent or glabrescent, the hairs scattered flagelliform often becoming somewhat rigid; lower surface pubescent or felted, sometimes finely pilose especially on the nerves, or glabrescent, glandular-punctate. Capitula homogamous, solitary or few-many in lax corymbiform cymes, or aggregated in ± dense 3-many-capitulate terminal clusters, or clusters lateral and ± scorpioidly cymose. Involucres campanulate to broadly cup-shaped, occasionally subglobose or narrowly ovoid. Phyllaries imbricate, several-seriate. Receptacle ± flat. Corollas purple, narrowly funnel-shaped, regularly deeply 5-lobed; lobes apically setulose or glabrous. Anthers with a narrowly triangular hyaline appendage at the apex and short subobtuse tails at the base. Style-arms subulate, hairy outside. Achenes narrowly oblong-obovoid, 4–5-angular with narrow ribs on the angles, truncate to slightly rounded at the apex, faces between the ribs with large scattered brownish glandular cells, very sparsely hispid or glabrous. Pappus 2-seriate, the outer of short lacerate free or ± united scales or reduced to a low rim, the inner of short very caducous barbellate setae. Pollen described as tricolporate, subechinolophate to echinate and micropunctate.