An erect slender subglabrous perennial herb up to c. 50 cm. tall, from a thickened base with thong-like roots. Stems annual, solitary, simple, ribbed, lanate below and sparsely pubescent above; the hairs short-stalked T-shaped. Leaves sessile, greenish, up to c. 55 x 1.5–3 mm., linear, tapering to an acute purple-tipped mucronate apex, tapering to the base, margin entire ± revolute, lamina glabrous. Capitula c. 12, laxly arranged in a terminal subpaniculate raceme, stalks slender up to c. 4 cm. long. Involucres up to c. 5 mm. long, broadly obconic spreading. Phyllaries few-seriate, becoming purple, sparsely puberulous, glabrescent outside; the outer phyllaries short subulate or linear-lanceolate, the inner up to c. 5 mm. long, oblong, abruptly contracted into a cuspidate apex. Corolla mauve, up to c. 7 mm. long, narrowly funnel-shaped, limb puberulous outside. Achenes c. 3 mm. long, subcylindric to somewhat 4-ribbed, densely long-strigose; outer pappus of short somewhat scale-like setae, inner of pale stramineous barbellate setae 4–4.5 mm. long.