Herbs 30-130 cm tall, perennial. Stem solitary, erect, branched apically, glabrous or glandular hairy, leafy. Basal, lower, and middle stem leaves with petiole 8-25 cm, unwinged, basally not or slightly widened; leaf blade ovate, triangular-ovate, or more rarely suborbicular, 7-30 × 4.5-23 cm, adaxially ± glandular hairy, base cordate, truncate, or cuneate, margin mucronulately dentate, apex acute to acuminate. Upper stem leaves similar to middle stem leaves but smaller and with petiole shorter and often apically cuneately winged; leaf blade triangular to narrowly rhombic, basally usually cuneate, apically acute to acuminate. Uppermost leaves sessile, narrowly rhombic to narrowly elliptic, base cuneate, apex acuminate. Synflorescence paniculiform, with numerous capitula. Capitula with 5 florets. Involucre ca. 12 × 2-3 mm at anthesis, ca. 1.5 cm in fruit. Phyllaries purple, abaxially glabrous; outer phyllaries triangular-ovate to linear-lanceolate, longest ca. 7 × 1 mm; inner phyllaries 5, apex acute. Florets purplish red. Achene 5-6 mm, basally more attenuate than apically. Pappus 8-9 mm. Fl. and fr. Sep-Nov.
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