Herb with woody tuberous rootstock, ± 30 cm tall, erect; stems thickly white-tomentose. Leaves sessile; blade elliptic, 8–25 cm long, 2–7.5 cm wide, rounded to attenuate into a short petioloid basally expanded ± sheathing base, serrate, ± acute, grey with persistent tomentum on both surfaces, with numerous subparallel ascending veins, strongly rugose with impressed minor venation above. Capitula solitary, terminal, on short bracteate stalks; involucre narrowly ovoid to obconic, up to ± 42 mm long, thinly white-tomentose especially on outer phyllaries; phyllaries ± 6-seriate, rather rigid, oblong, rounded, finely arachnoid-tomentose in upper part, glabrescent, the longest 25–30 mm long. Florets with corolla bright red to crimson, ± 30 mm long, lobes oblong-lanceolate, 7 mm long. Achenes 9–14 mm long, strongly 5-ribbed, ascending-pilose; pappus pale stramineous, 13.5–18 mm long.