Herbs to 7 cm tall, perennial, rosulate, acaulescent, with a taproot. Caudex short, ± subterranean, with 3-7 scapes. Rosette leaves oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 4-10(-12) × 1-3 cm, sinuate-dentate or lyrately pinnatifid to subpinnatisect; lateral lobes elliptic to triangular, gradually smaller toward leaf base, abaxially with dark brown multicellular uniseriate hairs on veins, adaxially glabrous, margin entire or very scarcely and shallowly mucronulate-dentate; terminal lobe ovate to triangular, apex rounded, acute, or shortly acuminate. Scapes sometimes with 1 or 2 linear bracts, with dense long dark brown stiff glandular hairs. Capitula erect, with 10-16 florets. Involucre narrowly campanulate, 1.5-1.8 × 0.7-1 cm. Phyllaries abaxially brownish purple and with deep brown long stiff glandular hairs on midvein; outer phyllaries narrowly triangular to linear-lanceolate, approaching inner ones closely in length, apex acute to obtuse; inner phyllaries 8-10. Florets blue to bluish purple. Achene brown to dark brown, 4.5-6.5 mm, with 5 main ribs, apex truncate. Pappus brown, 1-1.2 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.
Home