Aster smithianus var. pilosior Handel-Mazzetti; Kalimeris smithiana (Handel-Mazzetti) S. Y. Hu.

Subshrubs or herbs (woody), perennial, 60-150 cm tall, rhizomatous. Stems erect, simple or branched, shallowly striate, villosulous, minutely stipitate glandular, resinous. Leaves cauline, gradually reduced upward, abaxially silvery green, adaxially green, abaxially villosulous-strigillose, veins villosulous, sparsely to moderately minutely stipitate glandular, adaxially scabridulous, resinous, base attenuate, margin entire, sometimes shortly serrate, strigose-ciliate, midvein prominent on both surfaces, apex acute; lowest leaves withered by anthesis, shortly and narrowly winged petiolate (blade not observed); lower to upper leaves lanceolate, 4-7.5(-10) × 1-2.3 cm; synflorescence leaves lanceolate, sometimes falcate, 1.2-6 × 0.3-1.8 cm, mucronulate. Capitula 7 to numerous in terminal corymbiform synflorescences; peduncles 18-70 mm, sparsely to moderately strigillose-villosulous, sparsely to moderately stipitate glandular, resinous, more densely so below capitula; bracts oblanceolate, entire, grading into phyllaries. Involucres hemispheric, 2-3 mm; phyllaries 3-seriate, unequal to subequal, abaxially sparsely to densely villosulous, more densely villosulous distally, densely minutely stipitate glandular, resinous, base hardened, slightly keeled, membranous, margin narrowly scarious, erose, ciliate, green distally, midvein prominent, translucent, sometimes faintly multiveined, inner surface shiny, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes mucronulate; outer phyllaries lanceolate, 2-4 × 0.8-1.5 mm; middle phyllaries oblanceolate, 4-4.5 × 1-1.3 mm; inner phyllaries oblanceolate, 4-4.5 × ca. 1 mm, tip sometimes purplish. Ray florets 21-25, white or light purple, tube apex and lamina base sparsely hairy, sometimes sparsely minutely stipitate glandular, lamina 6-10 × 1.5-2 mm; disk florets yellow, ca. 3 mm, tube apex and limb base sparsely hairy, sparsely minutely stipitate glandular, limb campanulate, ca. 2 mm, lobes spreading, narrowly triangular, ca. 0.7 mm, glabrous, eglandular. Achenes dark purple, broadly obovoid, ± compressed to ± trigonous, ca. 2 mm, strigillose, sparsely minutely stipitate glandular, 2- or 3-ribbed. Pappus 1-3-seriate, of few dirty white, basally flattened barbellate bristles; outermost series (always present) of scales ca. 0.1 mm; inner series of bristles ca. 0.5 mm; innermost bristles 1-1.5 mm; those of ray florets reduced in number. Fl. Aug-Oct, fr. Sep-Oct.

● Low mountains, subalpine grasslands, stony riverbanks; 1300-3400 m. S Gansu, W Sichuan, NW Yunnan.