Erect perrenial to 1.5 m high; stems sparsely to moderately appressed-cottony, becoming less dense upwards. Leaves sessile, attenuate or narrowly sagittate at base, not dissected or coarse-dentate to lobate with denticulate or entire margins; upper surface coarse-hairy or ± glabrous; lower surface commonly purple, usually somewhat cobwebby; mid-stem leaves, oblanceolate, very narrow-elliptic or linear, 3–12(–15) cm long, to 25 mm wide; upper leaves narrow-linear. Inflorescence corymbose, typically with 20–100 capitula; capitula non-radiate; involucre narrowly cylindric, 6.0–7.5 mm long, glabrous; bracts 12–14; bracteoles present; florets 30–45, bisexual and female. Cypselas cylindric to narrow oblong-ellipsoid, 2.0–2.5(–3.0) mm long, orange-brown, papillose-hairy in dense lines or scattered; pappus of slender hairs 6–7.5 mm long, deciduous. Flowers mostly spring–autumn
LoM, MuM, Wim, GleP, VVP, VRiv, RobP, MuF, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGL, EGU, WPro, HSF, HNF, OtR, Strz, MonT, HFE, VAlp. Also SA, Qld, NSW, ACT, Tas. Grows in sandy or clay soils, often at rocky sites, in heathland and usually drier forest and woodland throughout the state but mostly absent from the northwest, the southwest and coastal and far east Gippsland.
