In the second year, the plant can grow to as much as 3 m tall with a width of up to 1.5 m. The leaves are 10–50 cm wide, alternate, spiny, and often covered with white woolly hairs with the lower surface more densely covered than the upper. The leaves are deeply lobed with long, stiff spines along the margins. Fine hairs give the plant a greyish appearance. The massive main stem may be 10 cm wide at the base and branched in the upper part. Each stem has a vertical row of broad, spiny wings (conspicuous ribbon-like leafy material), typically 2–3 cm wide, extending to the base of the flower head.