Herbs, perennial, 25-100 cm tall, shortly papilliform hairy; rhizome thick. Stems solitary or several, erect. Leaves lax or dense, sessile, blade linear-lanceolate or linear, adaxial surface or rarely both surfaces gland-dotted, or indistinctly gland-dotted abaxially, 3-veined, lateral often inconspicuous, base cuneate, apex long, rarely shortly, acuminate; mid 4-5.5 × 0.35-4 cm; upper (in synflorescences) reduced, linear, 1.5-2 × 0.1-0.2 cm. Capitula few, rarely 2 or 3, in relatively loose corymbiform synflorescences, 7-10 × 7-12 mm; peduncles ascending or curved. Involucre obconic, 3-5 × 5-6 mm; phyllaries 3- or 4-seriate, light yellowish green, membranous, usually 1- or rarely partly 3-veined, margin scarious, erose-fimbriate, shortly arachnoid ciliate, outer ovate-lanceolate, abaxially ± shortly arachnoid, apex acute, inner larger, oblong-lanceolate, glabrous or glabrate, apex obtuse or acute. Ray florets 4-8, pale pinkish violet, lamina ca. 10 × 1.5 mm; disk florets 11-15, pale yellow, 5-6.5 mm, limb narrowly funnelform, lobes oblong-lanceolate. Achenes oblong to lanceolate, 3.5-4 mm, white long strigose, 3-veined. Pappus whitish to yellowish, slightly longer than disk corollas. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Grasslands on slopes, salt marsh meadows. N Xinjiang (Shawan) [Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan].