Herbs to 40 cm tall, biennial. Stems erect, unwinged; branches purplish red, long, striate, sparsely felted to glabrescent. Leaves abaxially grayish green and sparsely cobwebby-felted, adaxially green and sparsely cobwebby. Middle cauline leaves sessile, oblong-elliptic, 9.5-14.5 cm, undivided, margin with 0.5-1.5 mm spines or teeth with curved 2.5-5 mm spines, apex narrowed into a rigid spine. Upper cauline leaves ovate, ovate-lanceolate, or elliptic, 4.5-6 × 3.5-4 cm, margin spiny or with laterally and apically spiny teeth; uppermost leaves oblanceolate, ca. 4 × 1 cm, margin entire and unarmed. Capitula several. Involucre broadly campanulate, 4.5-5 cm in diam., fluffily cobwebby. Phyllaries in ca. 7 rows; outer and middle phyllaries triangular-lanceolate, 2.6-3.2 × 0.5-0.6 cm, leathery, with a medial abaxial ridge, apex with a triquetrous rigid 3-5 mm spine; inner and innermost phyllaries elliptic-lanceolate, linear, or narrowly linear, 2.5-2.8 × 0.1-0.3 cm, rigid, apex scarious and acuminate to acute. Corolla purplish red, ca. 2.2 cm, tube ca. 1 cm. Achene variegated with brown, obovoid, ca. 5 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul.

● Grasslands on mountain slopes; 3000-3200 m. W Xinjiang (Wuqia).