Herbs 40-90 cm tall, perennial, rosulate. Rhizomes short, oblique, with many slender roots. Stem erect, branched apically and sparsely brown hairy, usually leafless except for linear bracts subtending branches. Rosette leaves 7-50 × 3.5-8 cm, lyrately pinnatifid to lyrately pinnatisect, abaxially pale green and brown hairy, adaxially green and glabrous; lateral lobes few to many, opposite or alternate along petiole-like basal portion, semiorbicular, semielliptic, or triangular-ovate, to 1 × 2.5 cm, gradually smaller toward leaf base; terminal lobe elliptic, ovate, or lanceolate, 4-40 cm, base cordate, rounded, or subtruncate, margin sinuate to lyrately lobed and distantly shortly mucronulately dentate, apex acuminate. Synflorescence corymbiform, with few to some capitula. Capitula with usually 20-30 florets; peduncle 1-7 cm, slender. Involucre 1.4-1.5 cm. Phyllaries apically tinged purple, ciliate at margin with brownish hairs, otherwise glabrous or inner phyllaries also abaxially sparsely hairy near apex, apex ± acute; outer phyllaries triangular-ovate to lanceolate, longest 5-6 mm; inner phyllaries usually 12-14. Florets purplish to bluish. Achene reddish brown, 3.5-4.5 mm. Pappus 7-8 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep. 2n = 34*.
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