Herbs 40-150 cm tall, perennial, rosulate. Taproot cylindric to narrowly turniplike, ca. 1 cm in diam. Caudex 0.5-3 cm, woody, sometimes branched, with rather sparse leaf rosette and below covered with bases of old leaves and brown lanate. Stem slender, erect, unbranched in proximal portion, usually leafless, apically with narrow synflorescence. Rosette leaves obovate to oblanceolate, 5-26 × 2-6.5 cm, on both faces with short stiff subulate hairs, base attenuate into a 0.5-3 cm petiole-like portion, margin entire or sinuate-dentate to shallowly pinnatifid with orbicular to broadly triangular segments, apex obtuse to rounded and mucronulate or more rarely acute. Stem leaves (if present in lower part) similar to rosette leaves but smaller. Synflorescence racemiform to very narrowly paniculiform, with some to numerous capitula. Capitula with 5-10 florets; peduncle filiform, 1-5 mm. Involucre cylindric, 7-9 × 2-3 mm. Phyllaries green to dark green, ciliate near and at apex otherwise both faces glabrous; outer phyllaries lanceolate, longest 1/3-1/2 as long as inner ones, apex acute; inner phyllaries 5(or 6), apex acute to obtuse. Anther tube 3.5-4 mm. Style branches dark (blackish) upon drying. Achene pale brown, cylindric to fusiform, ca. 4 mm, with 10 ribs, apically attenuate. Pappus yellowish white, ca. 4 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Oct.
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