Coarse perennial herb, subscapigerous, 60–210 cm high; stems solitary, erect, at first slightly arachnoid, glabrescent, pale green with reddish longitudinal ridges.. Basal leaves sessile, narrowly lanceolate to elliptic, 19–49 cm long (including 10–17 cm long petioloid base), 2–7 cm wide, gradually attenuate into a petioloid base, margins sinuate-dentate, apex shortly acuminate, green and glabrescent above, whitish to pale green and arachnoid but often glabrescent beneath; stem leaves smaller and becoming progressively smaller up the stem, sessile, not or somewhat expanded-auriculate and semi-amplexicaul at the base, sinuate-dentate to subentire.. Capitula erect, radiate, 3–35 in a lax to crowded terminal corymb; involucre cylindrical, 8–13 mm long, 6–10 mm in diameter, ± woolly at the base; bracts of calyculus 6–16, lanceolate, 2–7 mm long, ± arachnoid-tomentose; phyllaries ± 10–22, green with reddish or brownish tips, 7.5–11 mm long, shortly lanate or glabrous except near the base, apically bearded.. Ray florets 8–13, bright yellow, corolla tube glabrous, rays 8–11 mm long, 3–4 mm wide, 6–9-veined; disc florets deep yellow to orange, with yellow styles and brown anthers, corolla 6–10 mm long, tube gradually expanded above the middle, lobes 0.8–1 mm long.. Achenes not known mature but ovary of disc florets 1.7 mm long, glabrous, many-ribbed; pappus 6.5–10 mm long.