It is a perennial herbaceous plant with a rather soft stem and succulent leaves, extensive, up to 60 cm long, without long hair. Leaves narrow down to the base of the wings, oval with prominent triangular pointed teeth, total length up to 15 cm x 5 cm wide.[citation needed]
There are few flowerheads which resemble a thistle; involucral bracts few, very unequal in width, membranous with border, up to 2 cm long; disk 2.5 cm in diameter; without rays, corolla crimson, scarlet or cherry in colour. The flowers appear from late autumn to winter.[4][better source needed]