Foetid smelling, stout, sparingly branched biennial up to 1m. In the first year the leaves form a rosette at ground level, which withers as flowering stems emerge in the second year; plants then produce large, lance-shaped, sessile leaves which become smaller up the stem; a large cluster of flat-topped heads, surrounded by 8-9 rows of glossy yellow or cream bracts much longer than the flowers, appears at the top.