Herbs 20-25 cm tall. Petiole grayish purple, winged; leaf blade grayish green, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 16-20 × 4-5 cm, very sparsely arachnoid, pinnatisect with a complicated irregular pattern, midvein light purplish at base but otherwise light green; lateral lobes 5 or 6 pairs, linear-triangular to narrowly triangular, patent, variously recurved, or curved upward, proximal margin entire, distal margin irregularly dentate and/or lobulate, apex acute; interlobes brownish purple spotted along midvein, to 1.5 cm, margin sparsely coarsely dentate or lobulate; terminal lobe narrowly to broadly triangular, 1.5-3.5 × 3-4 cm, terminal segment narrowly helmet-shaped to lingulate, distal margin concave and with teeth or incisions. Scapes pinkish green at base but otherwise light green, ± overtopping leaves, arachnoid. Capitulum 3-3.5 cm wide. Involucre ca. 1.2 cm wide, base flat to subtruncate. Outer phyllaries 13-17, light brownish olivaceous green suffused brown purplish distally, imbricate, ovate to orbicular-ovate, outermost ones 9-11 × 6-8 mm and 1/2-3/5 as long as inner ones, loosely appressed to erect, border pale green, (0.2-)0.3-0.6 mm wide, and membranous, margin subglabrous, apex flat or corniculate; inner phyllaries 1.3-1.4 cm. Ligules deep yellow; outer ligules flat, outside striped purplish gray; inner ligules with purplish teeth at apex; ligule tube pubescent. Stigmas yellowish green, abaxially blackish pubescent. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene light grayish straw-colored brown, 4.5-4.7 × 1.1-1.2 mm; body ± winged with prominent lateral ridges, densely spinulose above, subabruptly narrowing into a subcylindric 0.9-1 mm cone; beak 1.1-1.2 cm. Pappus dirty white, ca. 8 mm. Fl. late spring. Agamosperm.
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