Japan Flora: Large stout perennial; stems tufted, 50-100 cm. long, densely leafy at base, ascending, branched, cobwebby; radical leaves large, narrowly oblong, 50-70 cm. long, 17-30 cm. wide, pinnatcly cleft, the lobes nar­rowly elliptic, 5 or 6 pairs, acute to acuminate, spinulosc, cob­webby on both sides, glabrcscent, the cauline leaves gradually smaller, sessile, pardaily clasping, sometimes auriculate at base; heads large, nodding, long-pedunculate; involucres depressed- globose, 65-8.5 cm. across, purplish, glabrous; bracts about 10-seriate, coriaceous, the outer and median acute, 5-9 mm. wide, densely spinulose-margined, reflexed; corollas rose-pur­ple, 23-29 mm. long.             Aug.-Oct. Gravelly and sandy slopes in mountains; Honshu (Kanto and centr. distr.).

f. albiflorum (Kitam.) Kitam. Corollas white.