Perennial herbs or subshrub with tuberous roots. Stem erect, glabrous with few to numerous branches. Leaves simple, opposite, petiolate, 1–3 pinnatisect, toothed. Capitula solitary or in paniculate cymes, radiate, long pedunculate, nodding. Involucre cylindric to campanulate, hemispheric. Phyllaries 2–3–seriate, strongly dimorphic, reflexed at anthesis. Receptacle flat, paleate, paleae scarious, ± similar to inner phyllaries.  Ray florets neuter or sterile; ligules white to rose purple or yellow to scarlet. Disc florets bisexual, corolla tubular , 5–toothed. Anther appendagses ovate to deltate, glabrous or with few trichomes. Style branches densely papillose appearing plumose to the naked eye. Cypselas oblanceolate or almost linear, compressed. Pappus absent or of 2 small awns or filiform bristles.

A small genus of 22 species, distributed in Southern United States, Mexico, Central and South America. Following species is widely cultivated in Pakistan.