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Leaves 1–6 ± prostrate in a basal rosette, arising from a sheath of leaf bases persisting from the previous season, 5.5–17.5(22) x 2–12 cm., elliptic to rotund rarely oblate; apices obtuse, often mucronate in young leaves; bases rounded to cuneate with the midrib winged petiole-like; margins denticulate, often ciliate between the teeth; upper surface green glabrous or sparsely purple-setose particularly along and near the margins and midrib, lower surface purplish or green with a prominent purple reticulation, purple-setose on midrib and main nerves, occasionally also puberulent; cauline leaves absent, or if present reduced and bract-like.
Phyllaries 2–3-seriate, green, minutely tuberculate-rugose outside and puberulous above; the outermost ovate, usually less than half the length of the inner; the innermost up to c. 12 mm. long, lanceolate-lorate, obtuse.
Achenes reddish-brown, 4.5–5.5 mm. long, ellipsoid, not or hardly beaked, broadly 2–3-ribbed with 2–3 smaller ribs between, minutely strigose; pappus several-seriate of barbellate setae 4–7 mm. long.
Flowering stalks erect, somewhat robust, usually solitary, mostly branching above, sparsely to densely glandular-setose; setae 1.5–4 mm. long, patent soft purple.
Florets 4–6 per capitulum; corollas yellow, 11.5–16 mm. long, tube cylindric, ligule 9–12 x 2.5–4 mm. lorate with lobes 1–2 mm. long and apically papillose.
Capitula numerous, stalked; involucres cylindric, 8–10 x 1.75–2 mm. at time of flowering, increasing to c. 12 x 3 mm. in fruiting capitula.
Synflorescence up to c. 25 cm. long, narrowly cylindric-pyramidal, bracteate; bracts up to c. 2 mm. long, ovate.
A subscapose perennial herb up to c. 75 cm. tall, from a large semi-woody taproot.
