General:
Perennial herb from a thick fleshy rhizome; stems erect, solitary, simple or sometimes branched, finely spreading-hairy, up to 2 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate, irregularly shallowly-toothed, velvety beneath, nearly glabrous or spreading-hairy above, lower leaves stalked and elliptic, upper leaves more or less egg-shaped, unstalked or heart-shaped and clasping at the base, 25-50 cm long, 10-20 cm wide.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers with a few large flat or convex receptacles on stalks; involucres 2-2.5 cm tall; outer involucral bracts broad, densely short-hairy, inner ones narrow, more or less papery; ray flowers yellow, slender, 2.5-3 cm long; disks usually 3-5 cm wide.
Fruits:
Achenes 4-angled, glabrous, 4.5-5 mm long; pappus of numerous hairlike bristles, longer than the achenes.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia