Plants 20-100 cm; caudices short-branched.
Stems 1-6(-10) , erect, short-canescent (hairs ascending to appressed).
Leaves: basal and proximal cauline tapering to long, winged petioles, blades spatulate-ovate to oblanceolate, 20-95 × 7-15 mm, margins crenate to entire, apices acute, faces densely puberulent; mid and distal cauline (sometimes subtending axillary tufts of lateral branch leaves) sessile, blades linear-oblance-olate, 16-45 × 3-7 mm, reduced distally, margins entire.
Heads 10-300, secund, in wandlike pyramidal, paniculiform arrays, secund to apically recurved, 8-25 × 2.5-10 cm, sometimes proximal branches elongate, repeating pattern.
Peduncles 2-3.5 mm, bracteoles 0-4, linear.
Involucres narrowly campanulate, 2.6-5.8 mm.
Phyllaries in 3 series, ovate to linear-lanceolate, unequal, outer acute, inner obtuse.
Ray florets 5-11; laminae 2.8-5.5 × 0.3-0.7 mm.
Disc florets 3-10; 2.5-4.6 mm, lobes 0.4-0.6 mm.
Cypselae (obconic) 0.5-2 mm, strigose;
pappi 2-4 mm. The arrays can be elongate with ends bent nearly 90-180°.