Herbs, 10-180 cm tall. Rhizome fibrous. Stems simple or branched, quite glabrous or rarely sparingly pilose. Leaves sessile, 3-22 × 0.7-10 cm; lower ones oblanceolate, lyrately lobed with terminal lobe obovate and lateral lobes broadly triangular to oblong, margin serrate with apiculate teeth, apex apiculate; upper ones obovate to oblanceolate, lobed or not, apiculate-serrate with minute teeth, both surfaces glabrate or sparingly pilose. Capitula usually in large, spreading, lax, terminal, leafy panicles, pedunculate, 5-7 mm in diam.; ultimate peduncles ca. 3 cm, bracteate, glabrous. Involucre columnar, 6-7 mm; phyllaries in 5 or 6 series, herbaceous, entirely reflexed at maturity, linear, 1-7.5 mm, sparsely pilose on abaxial surface with white, spreading hairs and colleters, apex mucronate, inner series with prominent scarious margins. Receptacle 2-2.5 mm in diam., convex, alveolate, glabrous. Corollas yellow, tubular; marginal florets filiform, 4-4.5 mm, 2- or 3-lobed, glabrous; central florets 4.5-5 mm, with 5 triangular, papillate lobes. Achenes oblong-columnar, ribbed, sparsely hairy. Pappus white, up to 4 mm. Fl. Feb-Apr. 2n = 18.

This species is similar to Blumea membranacea but differs in the plant entirely lacking glandular hairs except on bisexual corolla lobes; stems and synflorescence axes glabrous or sparsely pilose; and leaves membranous, usually more regularly serrate, glabrescent or sparsely pilose on both surfaces.

Dry places, open thickets; ca. 1400 m. Yunnan [Bhutan, Cambodia, India (including Andaman Islands), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].