Perennial herb 60–150 cm tall arising from a woody rootstock; stems woody at base, sometimes red, at first finely floccose-tomentose, ± glabrescent. Leaves sessile, elliptic to broadly so, 5–11 cm long, 2.6–5.4 cm wide, cuneate to rounded and shortly decurrent on to short petioloid base, sinuate-serrate or serrate, obtuse and apiculate, pale green, coriaceous, scabrid. Capitula few in small terminal and lateral corymbiform cymes, often forming ± elongated compound cymes; stalks of individual capitula conspicuously multibracteolate; involucre 13–22 mm long; phyllaries 6–7-seriate, oblong or lanceolate, 12–20 mm long, acute, pectinate-ciliate on margins, densely floccose-tomentose, the median and inner with slightly expanded triangular apical appendages, these elliptic, ovate or obovate, the largest 4.5–6.5 mm long, 1.7–2.8 mm wide, 1.7–2.6 times as long as wide. Corolla purple or blue, fading to whitish, 15.5 mm long, lobes 5.5 mm long, with stiff apical hairs. Achenes 7.3–7.5 mm long, many-ribbed, shortly sericeous; outer pappus 1.5–3 mm long, inner pappus tawny, 9–12 mm long.
