Herbs, perennial, 12-40 cm tall, ± caespitose; rhizomes robust, ± woody. Stems erect, slender, branched in upper part, canaliculate, glabrous or sparsely strigillose in lower part, strigillose in upper part. Leaves glabrous, eglandular, thick, margin slightly revolute or flat, thickened, remotely, sparsely serrulate or serrate, teeth mucronulate, scabrous, midvein conspicuously raised, lateral veins 2-or 3-paired, subparallel to margin and inconspicuous; basal leaves present at anthesis, ± rosulate, long petiolate, narrowly oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate, 4-12 × 0.2-0.7 cm, gradually attenuate, apex acute or acuminate, mucronate; lower and middle leaves linear-oblong to linear, 2-4 × 0.2-0.4 cm, ± erect; upper leaves small, linear, abaxially sparsely strigillose, 1-veined. Capitula in open corymbiform synflorescences, 3-4 cm in diam. Involucres hemispheric, 7-8 × 10-12 mm; phyllaries 3-seriate, narrowly oblong, acute, apex tinged purple, strigillose; outer phyllaries narrower, green, membranous, ca. 7 × 1.5 mm, margin ciliate, of inner phyllaries scarious, erose-fimbriate. Ray florets 16-20, white, tube ca. 3 mm, hairy, lamina narrowly elliptic, ca. 15 × 1.5 mm; disk florets yellow, ca. 6 mm, tube ca. 2.5 mm, tube and limb hairy, limb funnelform, lobes ca. 1.5 mm, glabrous. Achenes tan to brown, oblong, compressed, ca. 3 mm, strigose, 2-ribbed. Pappus 3-seriate, yellowish; outer series ca. 0.3 mm; inner series ca. 4 mm, acute; innermost series ca. 5.5 mm, clavate. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.