Description: Spiny perennial herb, 6 - 20 dm (23.6 - 78 in.) tall, from taproot. Stems up to 15 dm (59 in.) tall with soft white wooly hairs. Leaves pubescent; basal leaves in rosettes, to 35 cm (13.8 in.) long, to 5 cm (2 in.) wide, unlobed, with spines 4 mm (0.16 in.) long; stem leaves to 15 cm (6 in.) long, decurrent (extending down) at base, dentate to pinnatified. Inflorescence a cluster of discoid heads, to 2 cm (0.8 in.) tall, 1.2 - 3.2 cm (1.3 in.) wide. Phyllaries brownish to straw colored, ovate-lanceolate to narrower, spines up to 6 mm (0.2 in.) long. Ray florets absent; disk florets pink to lavender. Fruit an achene, light to dark brown, 4 mm (0.16 in.) long. Time of flowering: June to September.
Habitat: Open, moist, alkaline clay soils of seep and spring areas, and gypsum knolls; dependent on wetland habitats. Elevations: 380 - 660 m
(1,246 - 2,165 ft).
Range: Virgin River drainage, Clark County, Nevada; also in Arizona and Utah.
Comments: Perennial habit, small flower head and long decurrent leaf bases are diagnostic for this species. C. mohavense, a close relative, is a biennial species which does not occur in Clark County, Nevada.