Annual or biennial herb, 30-60 cm tall, sparsely pubescent, much branched. Leaves with petioles, leaf blades pinnately lobed, lobes orbicular-ovate to lanceolate, or linear in the upper part. Capitula solitary at branch tips, or few in corymbose, 2.5-5 cm in diameter, with long peduncles; outer involucral bracts nearly as long as inner ones, ligulate flowers 8, yellow, base purplish brown, with teeth or lobes at the apex; corollas tubular, dark purple. Achenes obovate, curved inward, with a bony margin. Flowering period: July to September.