Biennial to monocarpic perennial. Stems erect, branched above, with subappressed to felted cobwebby tomentum, 20-50-(100) cm tall. Lvs narrowly oblong, pinnatifid, green and subglabrous above, densely white-tomentose beneath, 7-20 × 1.5-4 cm; lobes narrowly triangular, usually 2-3-fid to base; prickles pale, 5-12 mm long. Capitula broadly ovoid, erect, 3-4 × 2.5-3.5 cm, pedunculate. Involucral bracts all narrowly deltoid, with sparse cobwebby hairs; midrib stout; apex tapering gradually to a spine; marginal spines in 1-3 pairs; outer bracts strongly reflexed; middle and inner bracts erect. Corolla purple, c. 25 mm long; lobes c. 5 mm long. Style shortly exserted beyond corolla lobes. Achenes brown, broadly obovoid, 4-4.5 × 3 mm; pappus 15-20 mm long; cilia on pappus bristles 2-3 mm long.