Perennial, rhizomatous herb. Rhizome collar surrounded by thick fibrous marcescent leaf bases. Stem up to 50 cm tall, erect, unbranched, pubescent – sparsely stipitately glandular. Leaves basal and cauline, basal leaves withering at anthesis, basal and lower cauline leaves oblanceolate – lanceolate, 5 – 10 ( –  13) cm long, 0.6 – 2.0 cm wide, attenuate into (1.5–) 2 – 4 (– 10) cm long winged petiole, almost equalling or somewhat longer than the lamina; cauline leaves gradually smaller, sessile – shortly petiolate, lanceolate–linear, acute, entire,  4 – 6 cm long, 0.5–0.8 cm wide; uppermost leaves similar to cauline leaves, sessile, semiamplexicaul. Capitula terminal, solitary, 2–3 (–4) cm across; upper part of peduncle naked. Involucre hemispheric, 1.8–2.5 cm in diameter. Phyllaries mostly uniseriate, blackish green, longer than disc florets, minutely glandular intermixed with dense villous hairs, mostly at the base, 6–8 mm long, 1–2 mm wide, linear– lanceolate, acuminate. Ray florets many, 2–seriate, mauve to blue violet or purple, 20–30 mm long, ca 2 mm wide, ligule obscurely 3–toothed, corolla tube ca 2 mm long. Disc florets yellow–orange, apically dark bluish – purplish, 5–6 mm long, tube 1–1.5 mm long, limb 4–5.5 mm long including ca 1 mm long erect, triangular lobes. Cypselas obovate, 3–4 mm long, ca 1.5 mm wide, 4–ribbed, white stiff  hairy, intermixed with glands. Pappus 2–3 seriate, outer bristles 1.5–2 mm long, subpaleaceous, inner ones 5–6 mm long, white – straw coloured, becoming buff with age.