Erect, (15-) 20 – 50 (-60) cm tall, rhizomatous herb with brown fibrous lacerate remains of petioles, internodes pubescent to glabrescent. Lower and basal leaves elliptic-oblong to ovate, (6-) 7 – 20 (–30) cm long, (2.5-) 3 – 6 cm wide, basally cuneate into 5 – 8 cm long petiole, serrulate on margins, ± obtuse, glandular hairy. Cauline leaves akin to lower and basal, narrowly to broadly lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, becoming smaller at the upper part of stem, sessile. Uppermost leaves sessile, ovate-elliptic, 5 – 6 cm long, ˃3 cm wide, entire, acute to obtuse, pale yellow, membranous. Capitula 3 – 10 (–15), in compact corymbs, sessile to very shortly peduncled, separated from each other, concealed by uppermost involucel of leaves. Involucre hemispherical, (8-) 10 – 15 (-20) mm across. Florets bluish-purple. Phyllaries 3-4 (-5)-seriate, with margins and apices purplish-black, acute-acuminate, hairy to glabrescent; outer ovate, 5 – 15 mm long; median phyllaries elliptic-lanceolate to ovate, 7 – 15 mm long, 1.5 – 4 mm broad, inner linear-lanceolate, 8 – 14 mm long, to 2 mm wide. Corolla tube 9 – 13 mm long, limb lobes 4 – 5 mm long. Cypselas oblong, 5 – 6 mm long, straw colored, dark mottled, 4-7-ribbed. Pappus dark brown to pale-brown, biseriate, outer bristles scabrid, (3-) 4 – 4.5 mm long, inner ones almost thrice as long as outer.