Plants to 90 cm (roots fusiform to elongate-turbinate, branched). Herbage sparsely to densely hairy (hairs appressed to ascending). Stems usually yellowish green (usually not branched). Basal leaves: petioles 0-15 cm; blades (3-) or 5-nerved, usually linear or lanceolate, rarely ovate, 5-35 × 0.5-2(-2.5) cm, bases usually attenuate, margins entire (usually ciliate). Peduncles (2-)10-30 cm. Phyllaries lanceolate to ovate, 7-12 × 1-4 mm. Receptacles: paleae 10-14 mm, tips red to orange, often incurved, sharp-pointed. Ray corollas yellow (var. paradoxa) or pinkish to white (var. neglecta), laminae reflexed, 30-70 × 3-8 mm, sparsely hairy abaxially. Discs ovoid to conic, 2-3.5 × 2-3.5 cm. Disc corollas 4.5-6.2 mm, lobes pinkish to yellowish. Cypselae tan or bicolored (with distal dark brown band), 4-5.5 mm, faces ± tuberculate, usually glabrous (angles of ray cypselae hairy distally in var. neglecta); pappi to ca. 1.2 mm (major teeth 0-4).