Didelta carnosa var. carnosa, the lesser salad thistle, does not present much to suggest thistle-like features, unless the fruits in the old heads are suspected of such attributes.

In the different floral stages on show the outer bracts are spread widely and flatly around the heads, except during and shortly after budding. The inner bracts ascend around the rays of the open flowerhead, as well as around the old heads where fruiting is advancing.

The sterile ray florets disappear when fruiting is underway. They serve a pollinator-enticing purpose only in this species.

The flowerheads are not taller than the uppermost leaves (Manning 2009; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist).