Perennial, rarely annual herbs with rhizome or short caudex. Leaves basal and cauline, petiolate or sessile, often clasping, lamina linear, cordate – elliptic, oblanceolate, entire or toothed. Capitula radiate or disciform, numerous, usually arranged in cylindrical to diffusely thrysoid corymbs. Involucre cylindrical to campanulate or hemispheric. Phyllaries (3–) 4–7 (–9) – seriate, unequal or subequal, glabrous to hairy, outer sometimes leafy, margins usualy scarious. Receptacle flat, epaleate. Ray florets female, usually longer, white or blue, often coiling. Disc florets bisexual, yellow to white, limb 5–lobed, lobes deltate, erect to spreading. Style branches lanceolate. Cypselas obovoid or obconic compressed, glabrous or strigose (2–) 3–5 (–10) ribbed. Pappus 4–seriate, white to brownish, bristles ± equal, barbellate, white to brownish, persistent.

A genus of 90 species, distributed mostly in North America but some in South America, also in Europe and Asia (mostly widely naturalized). Represented in Pakistan by the following naturalized species.

This is a new generic record for Pakistan.