Rhizomatous herbs. Stem bracteate. Staminate plants (10-)20-40(-60) cm tall, bracts oblong, 3-8 cm long. Leaves mainly radical, reniform, margins denticulate, (5-)8-13×8-15 cm, petiole 7-20(-26) cm long, base dilated. Heads calyculate at base, in broad panicles, flowering stems and peduncles glandular hairy and sericeous. Involucral bracts green tinged purple, campanulate, ca. 8×1 mm. Staminate florets bisexual, pistillate florets sterile, corolla tube very narrow, ca. 4 mm long; limb much broader than tube, campanulate, ca. 4×2-3 mm long, lobes ca. 0.6 mm; ovary rudimentary, ca. 0.8-1.1×0.15-0.3 mm, style ca. 9.5 mm long; anthers ca. 1.8 mm long, apex appendage triangular, base obtuse; filaments ca. 1.6 mm long; pappus white, ca. 4.5 mm long. Pistillate plants 40-60(-70) cm tall, bracts linear to lanceolate, 3-5 cm long. Leaves radical, as in staminate plants. Heads all pistillate, calyculate at base, in panicles, peduncle and flowering stems glandular hairy and sericeous; peduncle 2-6 cm long. Involucral bracts 9-10×1-1.7 mm, recurved apically. Corolla creamy, filiform, ca. 10 mm long. Achenes brown, cylindric, ca. 2.5×0.5 mm, minutely papillate. Pappus white, ca. 11-12 mm long. Chromosome number, 2n = 60 (Peng & Hsu, 1978).
HSINCHU: Yuanyanghu, Shen 627. TAICHUNG: Szuyuan Forest Road, Shen 442; Wuling Farm, Shen 417. NANTOU: Kuankao, Chen 940; Meifeng, Peng 15294. CHIAYI: Alishan, Peng 4623. KAOHSIUNG: Taoyuan, Wang 1126; Yakou logging road, Wang 1095. PINGTUNG: Wutai, Lin 418. TAITUNG: Hsiangyang, Yang 6454. HUALIEN: Juisui Forest Road, Wang 570.
Endemic; semishaded to exposed slope bases, road cuts in forest, and in open fields, usually in moist places, 1,500-2,500 m.
