Herbaceous perennial with a basal rosette of leaves and a scapose stem to 1.5 m tall; basal leaves linear, up to 1 m long, entire or rarely with one or two spinose teeth; cauline leaves few and reduced; inflorescence a compound umbel with compact head-like umbels terminating the branches; heads ovoid or ovoid-oblong, 12-25 mm long, 10-15 mm wide, with several ovate or lanceolate basal bracts and similar, but smaller bractlets within the head that barely exceed to the length of the fruits; corolla cream colored or bluish purple; fruit ovoid, 3-4 mm long with scales at the angles and smaller scales between. Flowering June through September.