A small, glabrous, up to 20 cm tall herb. Leaves 10 – 15 cm long including basally widely winged petiole, yellowish to brownish-green, pinnatisect, lobes narrowly triangular to linear, commonly runcinate, 4-7 on each side, terminal lobe c. 3 x 0.2 – 0.5 cm. Scapes 1-many, dark brown, hairy above. Capitula c. 2.5 cm across. Involucre c. 1.5 cm long and broad, drying dark-brown to black; outer phyllaries loosely appressed, 7 – 8 x 2.5 mm, lancoelate, inconspicuously brown marginate, smooth. Ligules yellow, peripheral ones with dark stripes outside. Anthers polliniferous. Styles and stigmas drying black. Cypselas (immature) 5 – 6 mm long, spinulose above with gradually formed 1 – 1.5 mm long, conical-cylindrical cone; beak 4-5 mm long, 0.3 – 0.5 mm thick, strongly ribbed, brown; pappus 6 – 8 mm long, yellowish.