Rhizomes short, stout, with many fibrous roots. Stem solitary, erect, 60-100 cm tall, green or becoming purple in lower part, striate, arachnoid and shortly pubescent, glabrescent, base often with withered relict petioles; basal leaves persistent by anthesis, long petiolate; petiole 9-20 cm, basally expanded and subamplexicaul; blade abaxially pale green, oblong-cordate or broadly ovate-cordate, 5.5-13(-16) × 6.5-14.5 cm, papery, abaxially sparsely arachnoid, or later ± glabrescent, adaxially glabrous, midvein stout, lateral veins furcately branched, raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, base deeply cordate, cuneate-decurrent into ca. 1 cm wide winged petiole, margin serrate, apex shortly acuminate or obtuse. Middle stem leaves similar to lower leaves but smaller; petiole shorter, broadly winged, base distinctly expanded into ovate, leaflike, amplexicaul, large auricle, margin brown ciliate. Upper leaves sessile, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, base expanded into a denticulate-amplexicaul auricle, apex acute or acuminate. Capitula many, discoid, arranged in terminal 20-25(-50) cm racemes; rachis and peduncle densely arachnoid and glandular hairy; peduncles 2-3 mm, with 2 or 3 linear or subulate bractlets. Involucres cylindric or narrowly campanulate, 6-7 × 1.5-2 mm; phyllaries 4, green or becoming purple, linear-lanceolate, 0.5-1 mm, sparsely glandular hairy, margin narrowly scarious, apically slightly acute or obtuse, puberulent. Florets tubular, 4, distinctly overtopping involucres; corolla yellow, ca. 6 mm; limb narrowly campanulate; lobes lanceolate. Anthers exserted from corolla, 3-4 mm, basally obtuse. Style branches excurved, apically truncate, papillose. Achenes brown, cylindric, 3-4 mm, glabrous. Pappus purple-brown or purple. Fl. Jul, fr. Aug-Sep.
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