Stems erect (often from knotty crowns, sometimes basally lignescent). Leaf blades ovate-deltate to ovate, 1.5-4 cm, bases attenuate, margins dissected or lobed, apices pointed or rounded. Phyllaries 3.5-5 mm. Corollas blue to lavender or purple, 2.5-3.5 mm. Cypselae 1.8-2.5 mm, hispidulous; pappi: bristle tips not dilated. 2n = 20. Flowering Apr-Aug, Oct-Nov. Waterways, depressions and ditches, dry sandy or rocky soil, mesquite, creosote bush-mesquite; 400-1400 m; Ariz., N.Mex., Tex.; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Zacatecas).