Stems 0.7-1.5 m, puberulent above, otherwise glabrous or nearly so; lvs lance-ovate to ovate, 1-2.5 dm נ2-10 cm, shortly acuminate, saliently serrate, glabrous or barely scabrellate above, distinctly paler and puberulent beneath, rather abruptly narrowed to a petiole-like base; infl loose, very irregular, some branches commonly elongate; fls 32-48; invol 5-9 mm, its principal bracts arachnoid-ciliate, lanceolate to ovate at the appressed base, narrowed to a filiform tip 2-5 mm; pappus bright-stramineous or pale tawny to nearly white; 2n=34. Upland woods; se. Pa., s. N.J., Md., and e. W.Va., s. to Va., Ga. and Ala., avoiding the coastal plain southward. Mostly July.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.