A medium-sized dandelion with suberect leaves of a deep shining green, reddish mid-ribs and heavy interlobe blotching. Petioles red, winged.  Leaves narrowly oblong, leaf side-lobes 4-5, heavily dentate with large triangular teeth, sometimes sublacerate. Leaf end-lobes short, obtuse, sometimes subdivided and usually constricted laterally. Exterior bracts spreading-recurved, grey-pruinose and often becoming suffused purple, 3.5 mm wide. Capitulum 40-50 mm diameter when expanded, the ligules striped grey-violet, styles often appearing yellow when fresh, but drying somewhat discoloured.   With its red mid-rib, very dentate and blotched leaves, T. nitidum is only like to be confused with T. multicolorans, or perhaps stressed early-season T. polyodon. It is not always easily distinguished from T. multicolorans, but has darker, more shiny leaves, more purple bracts, yellower styles and a subtly different leaf-shape with coarser teeth more on the lobes and less on the interlobes.