Plants herbs, erect to slightly spreading, perennial, 2.5–5 (6) dm tall, 3–8 dm across, glabrous, glaucous; stems with caudex compact to spreading, the aerial flowering stems erect, solid, not fistulose, 1–3 dm long, glabrous or thinly floccose; leaves basal, sheathing up stems 0.5–15 cm, the petioles (0.5) 1–2.5 (4) cm long, densely pilose, the blades ovate to rounded, (0.5) 1–2 (2.3) cm long, (0.5) 1–2 (2.5) cm wide, usually sparsely pilose and grayish to whitish on both surfaces, the margins undulate; inflorescences narrowly cymose, open, 10–35 (40) cm long, 5–20 cm wide, the branches not fistulose, glabrous, glaucous, the bracts 3, scalelike, 0.3–0.8 (1) mm long, 0.2–0.8 mm wide; peduncles erect, straight, capillary to slender, 0.5–2.5 (3) cm long, glabrous; involucres turbinate, (0.8) 1–1.6 (2) mm long, (0.8) 1–1.2 (1.5) mm wide, glabrous, the teeth 5, erect, 0.3–0.8 mm long; flowers (1.2) 1.5–2.5 mm long, the perianth yellowish to yellowish-red or reddish with greenish or reddish to reddish-brown midribs, glabrous, the tepals dimorphic, those of outer whorl obovate with slightly enlarged, auriculate bases, those of inner whorl obovate, the stamens included, 1–1.5 mm long, the filaments sparsely pilose proximally or glabrous; achenes dark brown, trigonous, 1.5–2 mm long, glabrous.

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