Scabiosa austromongolica Hurusawa; S. comosa var. lachnophylla (Kitagawa) Kitagawa; S. fischeri A. Candolle; S. fischeri f. breviseta Handel-Mazzetti; S. hairalensis Nakai; S. henanensis Y. K. Yang & J. K. Wu; S. hopeiensis Nakai; S. japonica Miquel var. acutiloba H. Hara; S. japonica subsp. tschiliensis (Grüning) Hurusawa; S. japonica var. tschiliensis (Grüning) Hurusawa; S. lachnophylla Kitagawa; S. liaoningensis Y. K. Yang & J. K. Wu; S. mansenensis Nakai; S. superba Grüning; S. superba f. elatior Grüning; S. superba f. nana Grüning; S. togashiana Hurusawa; S. tschiliensis Grüning; S. tschiliensis var. brevisecta Hurusawa; S. tschiliensis var. longiseta Hurusawa; S. tschiliensis var. superba (Grüning) S. Y. He; Trochocephalus comosus (Fischer ex Roemer & Schultes) A. Löve & D. Löve.

Herbs, perennial, 30-80 cm tall. Roots simple or 2- or 3-branched, 12-25 × 0.3-0.5 cm. Stems erect, angular, internodes 6-12 cm, with adpressed, white puberulent hairs, more densely so at base and below inflorescences. Basal leaves rosulate, petiolate; petiole 3-10 cm; leaf blade narrowly elliptic to oblong, 6-10 × 1-2 cm, both surfaces sparsely white pubescent, pinnatisect, rarely dentate-lobed; segments linear, 1-1.5 mm wide, often wilted at anthesis. Cauline leaves opposite, amplexicaul, forming a short sheath, sessile or with petiole 1-1.2 cm; leaf blade oblong, 8-15 × 4-5 cm, pinnatisect or bipinnatisect; segments linear, 1-4 mm wide, both surfaces glabrous or sparsely white puberulent, apex acuminate. Peduncles 10-25 cm, tomentulose, hairs white; capitula 1 or 3, oblate-globose, 2.5-4(-7) cm in diam. at anthesis, globose and 1-1.5 cm in diam. in fruit; involucral bracts 6-14, lanceolate, 10-12(-28) × 1-3 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; involucels yellowish, obconical, 2.5-5 mm (excluding crown), ca. 1.7 mm wide, 8-ribbed, but only 4 marked, ribs densely white hirsute, with 8 pits at apex, crown ca. 1.2 mm, 18-20-veined, densely white villous on veins, edges dentate. Calyx 5-divided; segments needlelike, 2.5-3 mm, sparsely hispidulous. Corolla pale blue or light purple, outside densely puberulent, those of central flowers tubular, 4-10 mm; limb 5-lobed; lobes equal in length; those of marginal ray flowers 2-lipped, to 2 cm; upper lip 2-lobed; lower lip 3-lobed, longer; middle lobe up to 1 cm. Style ca. 1 cm, exserted; stigma capitate. Achenes oblong, with 5 brown veins and persistent calyx setae. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Sep. 2n = 16, 18.

Sandy dunes, dry mountain slopes, steppes; 300-1600(-3000) m. E Gansu, Hebei, W Henan, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, S Ningxia (Guyuan), N Shaanxi, Shanxi [Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East, Siberia)].