Herbs 30-100 cm tall, perennial. Stems erect, branched above, unwinged, with dense long multicellular hairs and sparsely cobwebby, densely cobwebby-felted above. Leaves concolorous, green to yellowish green, abaxially sparsely covered with spinules less than 1 mm, adaxially rough and densely covered with 1-2 mm spinules. Lower and middle leaves sessile, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or elliptic, 16-20 × 6-8 cm, pinnately divided, amplexicaul; segments 5-8 pairs, triangular-lanceolate to ± narrowly triangular, fringed with spinules, with a 5-7 mm apical spine; terminal segment largest. Upper cauline leaves similar but smaller. Capitula racemose or corymbose, ± nodding. Involucre broadly campanulate, 3.5-4 cm in diam., glabrous or sparsely cobwebby. Phyllaries in 7 or 8 rows, 1.3-2.3 × 0.3-0.5 cm, all of similar length, lacking wings and scarious appendage, basal portion lanceolate, apical portion subulate, 6-10 mm, and patent to recurved. Florets bisexual. Corolla purplish red, ca. 2 cm, tube ca. 1 cm. Achene yellowish, cuneate-oblanceolate, ca. 4 mm. Pappus bristles brownish. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct.
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