Stems erect, 15-90 cm tall, simple or short branched, puberulous. Petiole 2-10 cm long. Leaves radical, extremely variable in shape and size, blades elliptic, broadly ovate to orbicular, 2-6.5×1-3.5 cm, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, base acute or rounded, attenuate into winged petiole or spatulate. Margins remotely mucronulate, upper surface green, sparsely pilose, lower surface pale, brown pilose; cauline leaves few, oblong, 1.5-3 cm long, acute at both ends; upper leaves bract-like. Heads 6 mm broad, 2 or 3 together, spicately arranged; involucre tubular, 6-11 mm long, bracts in many series, scarious, outer ovate, inner lanceolate. Florets sometimes cleistogamous, fertile; corolla white, 8-10 mm long, unequally 5-fid. Achenes oblanceolate, compressed, 5 mm long, glabrous to densely hirsute; pappus 6-7 mm long, brown, bristles numerous, plumose. Chromosome number, 2n = 24 (Peng & Hsu, 1978).

TAIPEI: Paichatienshan, Peng 7463. ILAN: Taipingshan, Peng 10329. HSINCHU: Chienshih, Yuanyang Lake, Peng 13627. TAICHUNG: Hohuan River, Peng 6268; Hsuehshan, Peng 7929. NANTOU: Patungkuan, Peng 8141; Yunhai, Chiu 3346. CHIAYI: Alishan, Shihhou, Yang 6539; Yushan, Peng 9558. PINGTUNG: Peitawushan, Peng 13238. TAITUNG: Takuanshan, Peng 11787. HUALIEN: Errtzeshan, Peng 5885.

Himalaya, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and southern China. Taiwan, in forests on mountain slopes throughout island, (1,000-)1,800 to 3,500(-3,800) m.

This is an extremely variable species (see Kitamura, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 23: 6-7. 1968; Koyama, 1981 for discussion). Based on vestiture of achenes alone, this species was separated into two varieties, A. reflexa var. reflexa and A. reflexa var. nimborum, in the first edition of Taiwan(Li, 1978). A thorough examination of the specimens collected from Taiwan reveals that the vestiture of achenes varies continuously and is not correlated with leaf shape, which ranges from elliptic, broadly ovate to orbicular, and petioles wingless to broadly winged, or leaves spatulate. In our opinion, separation of the two varieties based solely on achene vestiture is not justified.