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Leaves subsessile, the largest shortly petiolate, mostly 5–14 x 2–7 cm., broadly elliptic to narrowly oblong-elliptic or lanceolate, apex acute, base cuneate to somewhat rounded, margins serrate; upper surface ± scabrous, rarely glabrescent, the hairs scattered becoming rigid at the base; the lower surface paler and stiffly puberulous particularly on the nerves; venation laxly reticulate and ± prominent beneath.
Achenes 2–2.5 mm. long, narrowly obovoid-subcylindric, truncate to slightly rounded at the apex, 4–5-angular and narrowly ribbed on the angles, the faces between with scattered enlarged brownish cells; pappus 2-seriate, the outer of reduced free to ± united lacerate scales, the inner of a few tawny caducous barbellate setae 0.75–2 mm. long.
Phyllaries numerous in many series, stiffly scarious with subhyaline margins, pilose-pubescent sometimes araneose, glabrescent; the outer from c. 2 mm. long, the inner to c. 8 mm. long, lanceolate to lorate, acute mucronate sometimes tapering pungent to the apex, occasionally ± recurved above.
Involucres 6–10 x 4–10 mm., spreading to c. 12 mm. wide, narrowly to broadly obconic-campanulate with ± diverging phyllaries, tapering or rounded at the base, occasionally subglobose or subfusiform with phyllaries appressed imbricate.
Stems usually solitary, branching above, leafy, pubescent; indumentum a mixture of large long-stalked flagelliform hairs and hairs with an elongate excentric apical cell on a short stalk.
Capitula numerous, aggregated in many 3–20-capitulate clusters; the capitula-clusters corymbiform or somewhat scorpioidly cymose, on long branches; capitula stalks 0–10(20) mm. long.
An erect perennial suffrutescent herb with annual stems, up to c. 1.7 m. tall from a small woody rootstock; rootcrowns pale-brownish tufted-lanate; roots numerous, thong-like.
Corollas purple, 6–9 mm. long, very narrowly funnel-shaped, lobes ± densely setulose at the apex, sparsely glandular on the limb and tube, otherwise glabrous.
Florets 40–120 per capitulum.
