Biennial to perennial. Roots tap and fibrous; taproot swollen above. Stem erect, simple or branching above, finely grooved or ribbed, glabrous, (5)-15-60-(100) cm tall. Lvs thick, glaucous, dull, glabrous, lanceolate to narrowly oblong to linear-oblanceolate, (3)-8-20-(55) × (1)-3-6-(15) cm; margins dentate. Rosette and lower stem lvs tapering to base, pinnatifid to < 1/2 way to midrib; lobes broadly triangular, spreading or slightly deflexed. Upper lvs not lobed, narrowly triangular to linear or narrowly oblanceolate, with ± rounded amplexicaul auricles at base. Infl. cymose to umbellate; capitula few to many. Involucre 10-15 mm long, turbinate to cylindric; bracts imbricate, recurved at fruiting, glabrous or sometimes the outer with a row of median broad-based trichomes, occasionally densely white-tomentose at base. Receptacle glabrous. Florets 11/2× length of involucre; corolla tube slightly > ligule; ligules spreading, yellow. Achenes elliptic, brown, strongly flattened, (3)-3.5-4 × 1.3-1.8 mm, 3-ribbed on each face, winged; spaces between ribs smooth; wings and ribs smooth. Pappus fine, white, c. = involucre.
Wet coastal cliffs and talus, rarely on sand or salt meadow. A coastal plant, growing on cliff faces in or around damp seepages, preferring base-rich rocks. Declining in the wild due to competition from introduced species.
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