E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from 1-several thickened fleshy roots; stems erect, simple or several, branching, leafy below, glabrous or scaly, exuding milky juice when broken, 10-70 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves variable, linear to lanceolate or spoon-shaped, entire to toothed or finely pinnately cut with slender lobes, glabrous or scaly; stem leaves similar.

Flowers:
Heads with strap-shaped flowers, solitary at ends of branches, nodding until mature; involucres cylindric to bell-shaped, 8-22 mm tall; involucral bracts glabrous dorsally or often scaly-hairy, the inner ones lanceolate-pointed, the outer ones unequal, shorter and graduated or nearly so, linear to egg-shaped; ray flowers yellow.

Fruits:
Achenes columnar or narrowly spindle-shaped, grey to brown, glabrous or hairy, 3.5-8 mm long; pappus 5-10 mm long, of 15-30 narrow scales, each bearing a long, bright white, feathery bristle.