Herbs, perennial, (30-)40-80 cm tall, much branched, with a short thick terete rootstock. Basal and lower stem leaves: petiole 1.5-3 cm; leaf blade suborbicular, broadly ovate, or obovate, 4-6(-8) × 2.5-6 cm, 1- or 2-pinnatisect to almost entire; segments 2 or 3(or 4) pairs, obovate or subspatulate, cleft or serrate at margin or leaves entire or few serrate, base attenuate. Middle stem leaves: blade suborbicular or broadly ovate, 2-4 × 2-4 cm, 1- or 2-pinnatisect or partite; lobes 2 or 3 pairs, elliptic or subspatulate, 3-partite or -cleft, serrate or entire apically. Uppermost leaves pinnatisect; lobes elliptic or lobules narrowly linear or narrowly lanceolate; leaflike bracts 3-lobed or entire. Synflorescence a broad panicle, main branches many, with short lateral branches. Capitula many, pedunculate. Involucre broadly ovoid or subglobose, 1.5-2.5 mm in diam. Marginal female florets 4-8. Disk florets 6-10, male. Achenes oblong. Fl. and fr. Jun-Nov.

Forest margins, roadsides, grasslands, shrublands, canyons, forest steppes, steppes, seashore dunes, waste areas, slopes, mountains; near sea level to 2100 m. Anhui, S and SW Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, S Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, N Yunnan [Japan, Korea, E Mongolia].