Rhizomatous, perennial herbs, 20 – 35 cm tall. Stem robust, erect, leafy, branched above, branches 2–5, erect, monocephalous. Leaves green, herbaceous, laxly pubescent, basal leaves subrosulate, attenuate into small petiole, lamina 4 – 7 cm long, 0.6–1 (–1.5) cm wide, oblanceolate – somewhat spathulate, entire – crenate, obtuse – apiculate; cauline leaves sessile, 2–5 cm long, 2–4 mm wide, oblanceolate–linear, wavy, erect – spreading, apiculate–rotundate, uppermost ca 1 cm long, 1–2 mm wide, linear–lanceolate, entire–wavy, acute. Peduncle and involucre, laxly–densely hirsute to pilose, intermixed with glands. Capitula terminal, solitary, 1.5–2 cm across. Involucre hemispheric, umbonate, compressed, 1–1.5 cm in diameter. Phyllaries 2–3–seriate, green, hirsute, mixed with glandular hairs, acute, outer ones 2–3 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm wide, lanceolate, middle ones 4–5 mm long, ca 0.5 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, inner ones 5 – 6 mm long, 0.2–0.5 mm wide, linear–lanceolate, membranous. Ray florets many, dark blue–violet, 7–8 mm long, corolla tube ca 4 mm long. Eligulate female florets absent. Disc florets yellow, 5–6 mm long, tube 1–1.5 mm long, limb 3.5–4 mm long including ca 0.5 mm long lobes. Cypselas oblong, ca 2 mm long, brown, sericeous, hilum basal. Outer bristles of pappus small, ca 0.5 mm long, inner ones 4.5–5 mm long, white, becoming straw coloured on drying.