Somewhat woody herb, occasionally scrambling, 90–200 cm tall, single-stemmed, much-branched; stems thinly crispate-pubescent with simple hairs, glabrescent. Leaves sessile or shortly petiolate, elliptic or broadly elliptic to slightly oblanceolate, 3.5–25 cm long, 1.5–9 cm wide, base cuneate or attenuate, margins remotely apiculate-serrate to coarsely serrate, apex shortly acuminate, dark green, shiny, thinly hispid or scabridulous and glabrescent above, thinly pubescent especially on veins beneath. Capitula few to many in often copious, sometimes rather lax terminal corymbiform cymes; involucre ovoid-cylindrical, 10–18 mm long; phyllaries 4–7-seriate, appressed, lanceolate, the innermost 8–16 mm long, dark in upper part, ciliate-pectinate on the margins, acuminate or attenuate, the distal part in outer and middle phyllaries appendage-like, lanceolate, 2–7 mm, sometimes recurving, 0.7–1.4 mm wide, 1.8–10 times as long as wide. Corolla blue or mauve, fading with age to lilac or almost white, 10.5–16 mm long, lobes 3–5.5 mm long, with a few stiff apical hairs and stipitate glands. Achenes 10-ribbed, 6.5–8.5 mm long, shortly ascending-pubescent, dark brown or black; carpopodium large; outer pappus of narrow oblong scales, 1–3 mm long, inner pappus tawny, 8–12 mm long.
