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

General:
Perennial herb from a fibrous root; stems solitary, stout, branched in the inflorescence, 60-200 cm tall.

Leaves:
Stem leaves opposite or whorled, mostly in 3's or 4's, lanceolate to lance-elliptic, narrowing abruptly to the stalk, 6-20 cm long and 2-7 cm wide, sharply saw-toothed, lower surfaces covered with spreading, curly hairs.

Flowers:
Heads discoid, clustered in somewhat flat-topped clusters, rarely solitary; involucres 6.5-9 mm tall; involucral bracts graduated, often purplish; disk flowers purple, 9-22, tubular and perfect.

Fruits:
Achenes 5-angled, glandular; pappus of numerous hairlike bristles.