Annual, non-rhizomatous, up to 60 cm tall herb, stem if present dichotomously branched above, branches glabrous to densely villous, glandular or eglandular hairy. Leaves in rosette, oblanceolate to obovate-lanceolate, unlobed to pinnatisect, petiolate, 2 – 20  x 0.8 – 4.5  cm, lobes entire or toothed, stiff hairy, gradually reduced, sessile and bract like in upper most part of stem. Capitulum usually with 30-60 florets, occasionally up to 100. Receptacle flat with erect setaceous palaea much longer than cypselas, very rarely absent. Involucre cylindrical-campanulate, 4 – 11  x 3 – 5  mm, phyllaries with dark glandular and stiff hairs on the midrib, rarely glabrous, outer phyllaries 8-12, unequal, with scarious margin, inner ones 12-15, equal, with broad scarious margins. Ligules 3 – 11  mm including 2 – 3  mm long tube, yellow, sometimes tinged pink. Style branches variable in colour, dark green, greenish or yellow. Cypselas usually trimorphic, 3.5 – 5  (-7) mm long, all beakless, truncate or narrowed above, outer, if present, angular or winged, compressed, linear-lanceolate, white, 3-ribbed; middle ones terete, linear, reddish-brown, 10-ribbed, papillose along ribs; inner ones same as middle ones but with smooth ribs. Pappus 4 – 5  mm long, inserted in involucre, soft, white, persistent.