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Leaves glabrous, 5–25 cm. long, the upper cauline being the largest, all leaves runcinate, or pinnately-lobed with a narrowly-winged midrib, or upper leaves and those of the axillary shoots undivided and linear-lanceolate; lateral lobes 2–8, mostly 1–3.5(6.5) x 0.5–1.5(2.3) cm., recurved oblong-lanceolate, asymmetrically tapered, less often 1.5–4 x 0.3–0.5 cm. and narrowly-triangular; midrib lamina 3–14 mm. wide, linear-elliptic; lobe and leaf apices acute to ± attenuate; margins recurved acicular-denticulate; leaf bases amplexicaul and narrowly auriculate-sagittate in lower leaves to rounded-auriculate with sagittate auricle lobes in the upper leaves; ± well developed axillary shoots often present at least in the upper leaves, the young axillary growth densely brown lanate later glabrescent.
A robust herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It can be erect or trailing. It grows 1-2 m long. It is succulent with white latex. The older stems are hollow and become woody at the base. The leaves are alternate. They are divided into lobes along the stalk. The lobes usually curve away from the tip. The wide lobes near the base clasp the stem. The leaves are 15 cm long. The flowers occur in heads. They are yellow. They are about 8 mm across. They are at the ends of branches in the axils of leaves near the top. The fruit are very small and dry. They have stiff straight bristles.
Capitula many, subsessile or shortly-stalked, 2–10 ± densely aggregated in solitary or corymbiformly cymose globose clusters, or clusters much reduced with fewer capitula laxly arranged, mature capitula subtended by 1-several subsessile buds; the bases of the capitula as well as the subtending buds and the capitula stalks covered in a white persistent lanate indumentum, the synflorescence branches and capitula stalks not glandular-setose.
Phyllaries olive-green, few-seriate, imbricate; densely white-lanate outside, later glabrescent towards the apices, rarely also setose outside; the outermost c. 4 mm. long, ovate-lanceolate, eventually swollen below; the innermost 10–15 x 1.5–2.5 mm., oblong-lanceolate, obtuse to rounded at the apices, glabrous, eventually involute.
Achenes pale-brown, 3–4 mm. long, narrowly ellipsoid, ± flattened, c. 4-angular, with ribs on the angles and with smaller ribs in between, the larger ribs becoming thickened and transversely rugulose, glabrous; pappus white, dimorphic, 8–10 mm. long, composed of minutely barbellate setae intermixed with down-like hairs.
Stems trailing or scrambling to c. 2(6) m. long, or erect and up to c. 1 m. tall, 1-several, branched above, leafy throughout or the lowermost leaves withered and the stem leafless below, green or purple-tinged, terete hollow glabrous.
Corollas yellow c. 12–14 mm. long, pubescent about the junction of tube and ligule; ligule 4.5–5 mm. long, oblong becoming orange outside.
Involucres up to c. 16 x 9 mm. in fruiting capitula, ovoid-cylindric to spreading.
A somewhat robust perennial herb from a semi-woody rootstock.
Florets numerous.
