Argemone glauca var. decipiens is an erect, glaucous perennial herb that often becomes somewhat woody at the base. It features 70–150 cm long stems with suberect branches and is usually moderately to densely covered with yellow, sharp, stiff prickles. The stems contain bright yellow latex. The leaves are simple and alternate, with oblong-elliptic blades pinnately deeply lobed about halfway to three-quarters to the midrib, measuring 8–21 cm in length and 6–11 cm in width. The bases are sessile, and the surfaces are conspicuously glaucous. Prickles are commonly found on the veins of both surfaces, though they may be absent in some varieties. The margins are irregularly sinuate–dentate and feature marginal teeth tipped with prickles. There are no petioles or stipules. The flowers are terminal, solitary, bisexual (perfect), and actinomorphic (radially symmetric). The flower buds are oblong, measuring 1.6–2.4 cm long, and can be either smooth or prickly. The calyx consists of (2)3(–6) sepals, each featuring a subterminal horn tipped with a prickle and measuring 3–5(–7) mm in length. These horns are caducous. The corolla includes six white, broadly obovate, distinct petals, each 3–5.5 cm long. There are approximately 70–80 stamens with pale yellow filaments and linear anthers that coil after dehiscence. The superior ovary has 3–6 carpels and a single cell; the purple stigma is 3–7-lobed, measuring 2–4 mm long at anthesis. The capsules are ovoid to lanceoloid, 3–6 cm long, and vary from sparsely to densely covered with prickles, each 2–6 mm long. Over 100 prickles can be found per valve. The seeds are numerous, blackish-brown, dull, subglobose, 1.9–2.4 mm in diameter, with a reticulate surface and oily endosperm. It is found in dry and subalpine forests at 610-1,900 meters.