Herbs, loosely matted, usually scapose, 0.5-2 × 0.5-3 dm, tomentose, grayish. Stems spreading, usually with persistent leaf bases, up to 1/ 4 height of plant; caudex stems matted; aerial flowering stems scapelike, erect or nearly so, slender, solid, not fistulose, 0.3-2 dm, tomentose. Leaves fasciculate in terminal tufts, sometimes 1 per node and sheathing up stem 1-5 cm; petiole 1-5 cm, tomentose to lanate; blade linear-oblanceolate to oblanceolate or narrowly spatulate to elliptic, 1-4 × 0.1-1 cm, grayish-or whitish-tomentose abaxially, less so to subglabrous (or rarely glabrous) adaxially or white-lanate on both surfaces, margins plane. Inflorescences capitate, subcapitate, or cymose-umbellate, 1-5 × 1-2 cm; branches absent or dichotomous; bracts 2-6, linear to lanceolate, scalelike to semileaflike, 1.5-20 × 1-5 mm. Peduncles absent. Involucres 1 per node or 2-5(-7) per cluster, narrowly turbinate, (3.5-)4-5 × (1.5-)2-3 mm, rigid, floccose to tomentose; teeth 5, erect, 0.5-0.8 mm. Flowers 2-2.5 mm; perianth whitish brown to rose, pubescent, rarely glabrous; tepals connate proximal 1/ 3, monomorphic, oblong; stamens exserted, 2.5-3 mm; filaments pilose proximally. Achenes light brown to brown, 2-2.5 mm, glabrous.
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