Annual, biennial or perennial, mostly non-spinescent, erect, frequently tomentose or glandular hairy to scabrous herbs or shrublets. Leaves variable, evergreen alternate, or all basal, entire or usually pinnatifid to pinnatisect or bipinnate, espinose. Capitula heterogamous and radiate or sometimes homogamous and discoid, solitary, terminal or corymbose, occasionally in clusters of 2 – 3 at apices of twigs. Involucre ovoid-subglobose or hemispherical, ± cylindrical, fusiform and conical.  Phyllaries multiseriate, imbricate,  with scarious or leathery, orbicular, lanceolate or triangular, entire or fringed ciliate appendages, terminating in a mucro or spinuled spines. Receptacle flat, densely beset with bristles. Florets tubular, inner bisexual, outer sterile or neuter, radiate, enlarged, curved and 7-toothed. Corolla pink, red, purple, blue, yellow or white, tube with 5 (-8)-lobed limb. Anthers with basal short appendages, flattened, filaments papillose hairy. Cypselas oblong to obovoid-obconical, ± compressed, rounded or truncate, glabrous or soft hairy, rarely rugulose or pitted, hilum obliquely or laterally attached to the receptacle, insertion areole with elaisomes. Pappus biseriate,  bristles unequal, persistent, rarely deciduous or absent; outer row of scabrid, barbellate or plumose bristles or subulate scales; inner ones  short, scale-like and basally connate.

A large genus comprising ca 450 species, distributed in Northern Europe, Mediterranean region, Middle East, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Represented by 5 species in our region.