Perennial herb 30–170 cm tall, with one to several annual stems from a short woody rootstock; root-crown pale brown-lanate; roots long, spreading, fleshy. Leaves sessile, lanceolate to broadly ovate or obovate, 3–15.5 cm long, 0.8–7 cm wide, cordate, broadly cuneate or cuneate-attenuate at the base, obscurely to coarsely serrate, apex acute, scabridulous above, scabridulous to shortly finely crispate-tomentose beneath. Capitula in terminal or terminal and upper axillary compact to lax scorpioid corymbiform cymes, shortly pedicellate, solitary to densely clustered with ascending crispate hairs; involucre ovoid to obconic-cylindrical, 6–11 mm long, 2.5–10 mm in diameter at flowering time; phyllaries 3–5-seriate, lanceolate, 2–8.5 mm long, outer and median usually recurving at least at the apices, thinly pubescent, darker in centre towards the apex and purplish at the margins in upper part; inner purplish and fimbriate-pectinate on upper margins. Florets many; corolla 6.5–7.5 mm long, purple or mauve, lobes 1.5–2.5 mm long, with stiff hairs at the apex and often with fine hairs along their length. Achenes prismatic (3–)4-angled, 2.2–3 mm long, glabrous or almost so; pappus double, outer persistent, membranous, coroniform, lacerate, 0.4–0.6 mm long, inner of brown caducous flattened barbellate setae 1.5–2 mm long. Fig. 54/1–3.
