Townsendias are annual, biennial, or perennial herbs growing from taproots, with alternate or all basal, entire leaves and usually rather few or solitary heads. Stems are often absent, or short and simple.
The flowerheads have rays that are white to pink, blue, or violet. The involucral bracts are narrow, somewhat overlapping, usually with a green central stripe and irregular, fringed or membranous edges. The receptacle is flat, without bracts inside. The disk flowers are numerous. The achenes are flattened, 2-nerved (or those of the rays triangular), usually short-hairy. The pappus of the disk flowers consists of a single series of numerous, rigid, narrow, finely barbed, bristlelike scales, that of the rays is similar or sometimes reduced and chaffy. The genus has about 20 species, native to western N. America.