Plants with strong odor of coumarin or vanilla. Basal leaves usually more than 15 × 5 cm; midstem leaves broadly elliptic, apices flared away from stems, margins often shallowly dentate. Primary head-bearing branches diverging from main axes at 10–20°. Florets mostly 7–10.

Flowering (Aug–)Sep–Oct(–Nov). Pine-oak borders, longleaf pine savannas, flatwoods, fields, roadsides, fencerows, stream bottoms, seepage and boggy areas, sandy sites, limestone ridges or clay hills; 0–80 m; Ala., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., N.C., S.C.