Herbs to 2 m tall, biennial. Stem erect, branched, sparsely cobwebby; branches ascending. Leaves abaxially grayish white and densely felted, adaxially green and glabrous. Basal leaves petiolate; leaf blade heart-shaped, 25-50 × 10-30 cm, margin sparsely denticulate, teeth spinulose or mucronulate, apex acute to obtuse and mucronulate. Cauline leaves similar to basal leaves; uppermost cauline leaves sessile, ovate to ovate-elliptic. Capitula few to many, ± corymbose. Involucre ovoid, 1.5-2 cm in diam., ± densely cobwebby. Outer phyllaries subulate, triangular-subulate, or lanceolate, ca. 6 × 1 mm; middle phyllaries linear-subulate, 10-14 × ca. 2 mm, all with a hooked apex; inner phyllaries lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, apex acuminate. Corolla purplish red, 0.9-1.2 cm, tube 4.5-6 mm. Achene pale brown variegated with dark brown, narrowly obovoid, ca. 5.6 mm, multistriate. Pappus bristles pale brown, ca. 3 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Source: [
• 1
]. 

Plants to 250 cm. Basal leaves: petioles hollow or solid, 10–15 cm, glandular-hairy; blades 30–40 × 16–28 cm, coarsely dentate to subentire, abaxially white-tomentose, adaxially green, sparsely short-hairy. Heads usually in corymbiform clusters, long-pedunculate. Peduncles 1.5–12 cm. Involucres 15–25 mm diam., densely cobwebby (rarely glabrate). Phyllaries linear to linear-lanceolate, inner usually purplish, margins with minute spreading or reflexed glandular hairs. Florets 30+; corollas rose-purple, (occasionally white), 9–13 mm. limb minutely glandular. Cypselae light brown, 5–8 mm; pappus bristles 1–3 mm. 2n = 36.

Source: [
• 2
]. 

"Resembling no. 3 [Arctium lappa L.] but smaller, seldom over 13 dm; lower petioles mostly hollow; invol mostly 1.5–2.5 cm thick, ± strongly arachnoid-tomentose and the bracts only weakly or scarcely hooked; cor-limb glandular outside; 2n=36. Native of Eurasia, sparingly established in our range. June–Oct."

Source: [
• 3
]. 

60–120 cm hoch. Stiel der Grundblätter mit Mark gefüllt. Blühende Köpfe 3–10 cm lang gestielt (Stiel meist bedeutend länger als der Kopf), in einer meist doldigen Rispe, Hülle dicht spinnwebig, Krone aussen meist mit Drüsen. Sonst wie A.

Source: [
• 4
]. 

7–9. Wegränder, Schuttplätze, kollin-montan(-subalpin). CH.

Source: [
• 4
].