Stems 1-2 m, thinly hairy or glabrous; lvs lanceolate or lance-linear, 10-28 נ1.5-6 cm, long-acuminate, sharply serrate to subentire, gradually narrowed to the base, scabrellate above, puberulent to thinly tomentose beneath, the lower side not much paler than the upper; infl loose and open, flat-topped or concave; fls 30-55(-65); invol 7-17 mm, its principal bracts ovate or oblong at base, abruptly narrowed to a filiform tip 2-8 mm, arachnoid-ciliate, glabrous on the back; pappus purple or brownish-purple, or sometimes merely dark-tawny; 2n=34. Low wet woods and marshes, especially near the coast; Mass. to Fla., inland to w. Pa., W.Va., e. Ky., Tenn., and Ala. Mostly Aug., Sept.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
