Biennial herb up to 1,5 m tall, or rarely, perennating, aromatic, stem stout, base up to 10 mm diam., simple below the inflorescence, glandular-setose, inflores­cence branches sometimes thinly white-cobwebby as well, leafy. Radical leaves usually wanting at flowering, but rosetted in first year of growth, up to c. 150 (—250) x 60 mm, elliptic, tapering to a broad clasping base, glandular or very thinly woolly; cauline leaves mostly 65 — 130 x (15—) 20—45 mm, smaller upwards, oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, apex acute or sometimes acuminate on uppermost leaves, apiculate, base cordate-clasping, the main stem leaves in particular usually decurrent in long or short wings, both surfaces glandular-setose, margins often white-woolly as well, very rarely some leaves thinly woolly below. Heads heterogamous, depressed-globose, c. (8—) 10—12 mm long, c. 15—25 mm across the radiating bracts, many in a large spreading leafy corymbose panicle. Involucral bracts in c. 9 series, slightly graded, imbricate, much exceeding the flowers, glossy bright yellow, backs of outer rarely overlaid palest brown. Recep­tacle shortly honeycombed. Flowers c. 650-1200, 50-160 ("female"), 600-1100 ("bisexual"). Achenes 1 mm long