Herbs 60-100 cm tall, perennial. Rhizome stout, obliquely ascending. Stem solitary, brownish purple, slender, erect, apically branched, arachnoid, basally glabrescent. Basal leaves petiolate; petiole 2-3.5 cm; leaf blade narrowly obovate-elliptic, 15-20 × 3-6 cm, thinly papery, lyrate-pinnately lobed, abaxially pale green and glabrous, adaxially green or purple and glabrous; lateral lobes 1-4 pairs, margin entire or subentire; terminal lobe narrowly ovate-triangular to narrowly elliptic, large, apex acute to acuminate. Middle and upper stem leaves 1 or 2, narrowly elliptic to linear, 1.5-3 × 0.2-0.5 cm, margin entire, apex acute. Capitula few to numerous, in a corymbiform synflorescence. Involucre turbinate, 5-12 mm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, arachnoid; outer phyllaries triangular-ovate, ca. 11 × 3 mm, green, apex acute; middle phyllaries oblong to narrowly elliptic, ca. 9 × 1-2 mm, herbaceous, purple, apex rounded to obtuse; inner phyllaries linear, ca. 11 × 1 mm, apex acute. Receptacle bristles 5-8 mm. Corolla purple, ca. 1.3 cm. Achene oblong, ca. 4 mm, ribbed, glabrous. Pappus dirty white; outer bristles ca. 3 mm; inner bristles 6-8 mm. Fl. and fr. Sep-Oct.
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