Branching, rush-like, taprooted perennial with runcinate- pinnatifid, often deciduous basal lvs 5-13 נ1.5-3.5 cm and reduced linear cauline lvs 2-10 cm נ1-8 mm, the stem 3-15 dm, strongly spreading-hispid near the base, the invols white-tomentose, the herbage otherwise glabrous; heads scattered along the branches, commonly with 9-12 fls; invol 9-12 mm, with ca 8 principal bracts; body of the achene 3 mm, muricate above and bearing a circle of scales at the base of the long, slender beak; 2n=15, 30. Roadsides, fields, and waste places; native of Eurasia, intr. in our range from N.Y. to Va., W.Va. and Mich. July-Sept.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.