Herbs to 72 cm tall. Stem purplish red, apically once branched, ribbed, sparsely floccose. Leaves papery, abaxially grayish white and densely thickly felted, adaxially green, asperulous, and strigose, margin ciliate with yellowish 1-4 mm spinules. Basal and lower cauline leaves with winged petiole 7-15 cm; leaf blade elliptic, 18-24 × 8-10 cm, pinnatipartite; segments 5 or 6 pairs, elliptic or obliquely triangular to obovate, terminal segment largest, base cuneate. Middle cauline leaves similar but sessile; uppermost cauline leaves undivided, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, semiamplexicaul. Capitula 2, nodding. Involucre ca. 5 cm in diam. Outer and middle phyllaries ovate-lanceolate to needle-shaped, 1.5-1.8 × 0.5-0.7 cm, middle portion laterally expanded into scarious fimbriate-lacerate wings, apex narrowed into a ca. 1 cm spine; inner phyllaries lanceolate, ca. 2.5 × 0.5 cm, rigid, distally with a small scarious lacerate appendage narrowed into a short spine. Corolla yellow, ca. 2.2 cm, tube ca. 7 mm. Mature achene unknown. Pappus bristles brown, to 1.8 cm. Fl. Jul-Sep.

● Open places in forests; 1700-3100 m. Xinjiang (Tian Shan).