A slender, glabrous, up to 25 cm tall herb. Leaves 12 – 20  cm long including basally winged petiole, entire to shallowly to deeply lobed, lobes 3-4 on each side, somewhat runcinate. Scapes hairy at the top. Capitula up to 1.5 cm across. Involucre 1.3 x 1.1 cm, dark green, drying black; outer phyllaries linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, loosely appressed, not marginate, slightly callose. Ligules yellowish, peripheral ones with dark stripes outside. Anthers polliniferous. Styles and stigmas blackish when dry. Cypselas (immature), brownish, spinulose above with cone, beak and white pappus.