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An erect spreading laxly branched subshrub or shrub, 0.15–4 m. tall, from a woody rootstock, usually leafless at flowering time. Stems and branches green and angular when young, becoming purplish-grey and subterete with pale prominent lenticels; branches ascending, densely appressed-pubescent especially on young shoots, soon glabrescent, sometimes tomentellous; hairs short-stalked T-shaped. Leaves usually appearing after the flowers, petiolate; petiole 2–10 mm. long, pubescent; lamina eventually up to c. 8.5 x 3 cm., narrowly elliptic to obovate-oblanceolate, apex acute to obtuse, base narrowly cuneate, margins subentire to subserrate towards the apex, sometimes ± revolute, thinly coriaceous, upper surface glabrescent, lower surface ± sparsely appressed-pubescent, or both surfaces glabrous, hairs short-stalked T-shaped; nervation finely reticulate and ± raised on both surfaces. Capitula borne on numerous ± abbreviated lateral shoots; shoots 1–5 cm. long, bracteate, with 1–7 capitula racemosely to subpaniculately arranged, or capitula more laxly arranged in large diffuse panicles with capitula often scorpioidly cymose on the synflorescence branches, stalks 0.3–3 cm. long. Involucres 3–6 mm. long, obconic to broadly cup-shaped, later spreading. Phyllaries few-seriate, becoming caducous, scarious, thinly pubescent where exposed, or glabrescent, finely ciliate and densely glandular apically, midrib ± fleshy raised and purple towards the apex, margins narrowly hyaline; the outer phyllaries from c. 1 mm. long, the inner to c. 5 mm. long, narrowly oblong-elliptic, ± rounded and mucronate at the apex. Florets 9–12(17) per capitulum; corollas purple or mauve, paler below, 6–8 mm. long, widening towards the apex. Achenes 3–4 mm. long, almost equalling involucre in length when mature, tapering to base, 6–8-ribbed, uniformly puberulous and glandular; outer pappus of short, barbellate, scale-like setae, inner oflong-exserted, whitish, barbellate setae 5–7 mm. long.