Perennials, 15-70 cm; rhizomatous, with fleshy adventitious roots. Stems 0. Leaves basal. petiolate; blades mostly oblanceolate, rarely linear, 5-30 cm, margins entire or remotely denticulate. apices acute or acuminate. faces glabrous. Peduncles erect (15-70 cm) ebracteate. Involucres broadly to narrowly ovoid in fruit, 10-18 mm. Phyllaries: (not purple-spotted. apices erect. outer lanceolate to linear-lanceolate. apices acuminate. abaxial faces glabrous or black-villous; inner lanceolate, apices acute, both faces usually lightly black-villous. Florets 18-50; corollas yellow-orange, surpassing phyllaries by 5+ mm. Cypselae columnar or arcuate near bases, 4-8 mm; pappi of 24-48, brownish, barbellate bristles 5-10 mm (bases of bristles sometimes slightly widened). 2n = 18.

Flowering Jun--Sep. Mostly coastal and montane sphagnum bogs, other wet sites from lowlands to alpine in n part of range; 0-1800 m; B.C.; Alaska, Calif., Oreg., Wash.