Herbs, perennial, annual, or biennial; rhizome usually thickly woody, sometimes thin and ± woody, stem base sheathed in marcescent leaf remains, rarely biennial or annual. Stems usually short, rarely tall, ± scapiform, sometimes branched, leafy. Leaves alternate, basal petiolate or subpetiolate, blade green or grayish, lanceolate, oblanceolate, obovate, or spatulate, white tomentose to lanate, often sessile or short-stipitate glandular, margin entire, coarsely serrate, or sometimes subpinnatifid, cauline leaves few, reduced, entire or dentate. Capitula solitary or few, terminal, rarely in racemiform or corymbiform synflorescences. Involucre campanulate; phyllaries 2- or 3-seriate, imbricate or ± equal, membranous, outer green distally, inner green along midvein, margin scarious. Ray florets fertile, many, white, yellow, or reddish, reduced to tube and elaminate or laminate, exceeding or shorter than style, entire or 2- or 3-lobed; disk florets functionally male, few or numerous, concolorous with ray florets, 5-lobed; anther base obtuse, appendages lanceolate; ray floret style linear, disk floret style lanceolate, branches fused. Achenes of ray florets obovoid or narrowly oblong to oblanceoloid, compressed, ± strigose, marginally 2-ribbed, of disk florets linear, sterile. Pappus 1- or 2-seriate, outer of few short, thin bristles, inner of long, unequal, barbellate bristles, acute or slightly clavate, equaling disk florets.

About 20 species: C and SW Asia; two species in China.

(Authors: Chen Yilin (陈艺林 Chen Yi-ling); Luc Brouillet)