Leaves are reduced upwards and progressively unlobed. Leaf margins are spinulose and vary from dentate to subentire. The inflorescence is a terminal corymbiform cluster of few to several heads. Heads are 3-5 cm in diameter and each is subtended by 38 to 50 narrow, lanceolate bracts arranged in three imbricate rows. Bracts are dark green and often have white margins.
Inner bracts are typically shorter.
Heads are completely ligulate with 150 to 240 perfect florets per head. The corolla is tubular and yellow to yellowish orange. Each achene has a pappus of numerous white bristles that are about four times the length of the achene. Two subspecies have been described and are based on pubescence of the bracts, subsp. Perennial sowthistle, is native to Europe, western Asia, and Iceland.