Herbs, perennial, 60-100 cm tall, rhizomatous. Stems erect, simple, sometimes long branched in upper part, finely striate, villous, sparsely minutely stipitate glandular below leaves. Leaves cauline, gradually reduced upward, abaxially pale green, adaxially green, both surfaces moderately scabrous, more densely so adaxially, very sparsely minutely stipitate glandular, margin serrate to serrulate (teeth mucronulate), scabrous, midvein prominent abaxially, apex acute to acuminate, mucronate; lowest leaves (partly observed) withered by anthesis, narrowly winged petiolate; lower to upper leaves shortly winged petiolate (lower leaves), pandurate or ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3.5-10.5(-15) × 0.8-2.8 cm, base truncate or rounded or auriculate-clasping; synflorescence leaves sessile, lanceolate to ovate, 0.8-3 × 0.4-0.8 cm, base rounded, ± clasping. Capitula 1-10 in terminal racemiform synflorescences; peduncles 2-15 mm, strigillose; bracts numerous, sometimes overlapping, lowest bracts leaflike, ciliate, middle and upper bracts phyllary-like. Involucres campanulate, 10-12 × 10-18 mm; phyllaries 5- or 6-seriate, unequal, green apically, abaxially glabrous, eglandular, margin scarious, erose, purplish, ciliate, midvein somewhat more pronounced distally, ± translucent, apex obtuse, erose, purplish, ciliate; outer phyllaries broadly ovate, ca. 3 × 2.5-3 mm; middle phyllaries ovate to oblanceolate, 5-7 × 2-3 mm, base ± hardened; inner phyllaries oblong to narrowly oblong, 8-12 × 1.2-1.8 mm. Ray florets 20-27, white or purple, lamina 10-11(-14) × 1.5-1.8(-3) mm, glabrous, eglandular; disk florets yellow, ca. 6 mm, tube base flared, limb campanulate, ca. 3.5 mm, lobes spreading, tip recurved, narrowly triangular, ca. 1.5 mm, glabrous, eglandular. Achenes mottled red, narrowly obovoid, slightly compressed, ca. 3 mm, strigillose, apically sparsely minutely stipitate glandular, 4- or 5-ribbed. Pappus 4-seriate, white; outermost bristles few, slender, 0.5-0.7 mm; outer bristles slender few, 3.5-4 mm; inner bristles 4.1-4.9 mm, tapering; innermost bristles 6-6.2(-6.5) mm, ± clavate. Fl. Aug-Oct, fr. Oct-Nov.

The distinction between the two varieties of Aster turbinatus needs to be investigated.

● Open forests, thickets, grasslands, hillsides, stream banks, shaded places; 200-800 m. Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang.