Leaves lanceolate, 9–30 cm long, 20–90 mm wide, green, hairy to glabrous; lateral lobes in 5–8 pairs, markedly dimorphic, in early flowering plants broadly deltoid with finely denticulate distal margins and entire proximal margins, in later flowering plants deltoid-caudate, the tail often long and expanded at tips; distal margins of upper 2 or 3 lobes ± laciniate with 1 or 2 longer ± parallel lobules, proximal margins entire or with 1 acute lobule; terminal lobe acute, hastate to trilobulate; petiole relatively short, rose-purple, sometimes narrowly winged; midrib similarly coloured at least at base. Scapes 6–10 cm long at anthesis, 15–25 (–30) cm long in fruit, white-woolly in bud, becoming glabrous at maturity except below capitulum, wine-red throughout. Capitula 3–3.5 cm diam.; outer bracts broadly lanceolate to lanceolate, 8–10 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, patent to recurved, white-bordered (c. 0.25 mm wide), with a large apical callus c. 1.5 mm high; innermost bracts linear, 16–17 mm long, 1–3 mm wide, usually with a large apical callus to 1 mm high. Outer florets with ligule flat, exceeding involucre by 3–5 mm; anthers usually with pollen; stigmas greenish yellow. Achenes narrowly fusiform, 4–5 mm long, 0.75–1.25 mm wide, with flattened, straight spines
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