Stems puberulent only near summits. Leaves: petioles gla-brous; blades lance-elliptic to lanceolate or lance-ovate, 8–25 × 2.5–9 cm, relatively thin, bases gradually narrowed, abaxial faces usually glabrate, seldom strongly puberulent; distalmost whorls of leaves directly subtending heads not surpassing heads (blades 1.5–2.5 × 0.2–0.5 cm). Phyllaries mostly glabrous, outer often hairy.

Flowering late summer–early fall. Moist sites, calcareous soils, open sun or partial shade; 10–1800 m; St. Pierre and Miquelon; N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que.; Conn., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.