Herbs 20-35 cm tall, robust. Petiole purplish, narrow; leaf blade pale green, oblanceolate to broadly oblanceolate, 9-15 × 3-4.5 cm, sparsely to densely arachnoid, margin shallowly lobed and remotely dentate to deeply lobed; lateral lobes 3-6, triangular to linear-triangular, patent, often with recurved distal part or recurved; interlobes short, lobulate; terminal lobe broad, apex subobtuse to acute and sometimes with a distinct terminal lobule. Scapes brownish green, overtopping leaves, apically yellowish arachnoid. Capitulum 5-6 cm wide. Involucre 1.5-2 cm wide, base broadly rounded. Outer phyllaries (12-)15-24, pale green at base, suffused reddish, and getting darker then blackish toward apex, ± imbricate or not so, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, outermost ones 9-13 × 4-8 mm and ca. 4/5 as long as inner ones, appressed, border white and 0.4-1.5 mm, margin sparsely ciliate, apex blunt and corniculate; inner phyllaries 1.6-1.8 cm but to 2.3 cm in fruit. Ligules yellow; outer ligules outside faintly striped purplish; inner ligules with pinkish apical teeth; floret tube sparsely puberulent. Stigmas blackish green to green. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains slightly irregular in size, almost regular. Achene dark grayish brown, 4.5-5.1 × 1.1-1.7 mm; body ridged, densely spinulose above, spinulose on ridges throughout, ± abruptly narrowing into a 0.8-1 mm subconic or subcylindric cone; beak 8-11 mm. Pappus yellowish, 8-11 mm. Fl. summer. Sexual.
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