These plants are great for the perennial border, blooming early to late summer, with large showy flowers. The daisy like flowers, are pink or pink-purple or white, with one species even yellow.
Plants are drought tolerant with most species having a taproot or short compact rhizomes.
Stems and foliage usually stiffly hairy giving the plants a raspy sandpaper like feel when rubbed. In the wild many of the species and forms hybridize and this makes precise identification difficult. There are seven to nine species, with two species listed so far on the Federal endangered species list. This plant has long lax petals 4-8 cm long that hang down from a round central cone. The petals are thin and rose purple to pale whitish purple in color.