[3] This species mainly occurs in the mountains of Central Europe, in the Alps, the Apennines, in the Carpathians, in the Sudetes and in the Balkans.

These plants prefer various moist and fertile soils (meadows, wet woodlands of mountains, etc.)

Middle and upper leaves cover the stem and are lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, sessile, serrated on the edges.

The flower heads show a short, leafy peduncle that supports a hemispheric to ovoidal structure, composed of several bracts.

The seeds fallen to the ground are transported for some meters by the wind due to the pappus (anemochory) are subsequently dispersed by insects, especially by ants (myrmecochory).