Habitats:
Ditches, farmland, fens, grassland, marshes, meadows, riverbanks, riversides, roadsides, swamps, waterside, woodland.
Fruit:
A long, blunt, flattish achene, up to 5mm long. The fruit is tipped by white, feathery hairs.
Leaves:
A clump-forming, perennial herb with lance-shaped, alternate, green leaves, narrowing towards the stem. The toothed or untoothed, upper leaves clasp their stems. The basal rosette of leaves are sometimes pinnately lobed. The leaves are hairless above and covered in a white, cottony down below. The leaf edges are softly prickly. The leaves reach 20cm in length. The stout stems are grooved and are neither winged or spiny. The stems are also cottony.