Herbs, perennial, (10-)20-50 cm tall, glabrous or glabrate, sparsely shortly arachnoid, or sparsely scabrous; rhizomes robust. Stems several or solitary, erect or often ascending. Leaves dense, sessile, green, not gland-dotted, glabrate or sometimes sparsely shortly arachnoid, base cuneate, apex shortly acuminate, mucronate; lower and some mid withered at anthesis; mid blade lanceolate to oblanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 3-7 × 0.3-0.5 cm, 1-3-veined; upper usually linear, 1-veined; uppermost reduced. Capitula few in loose corymbiform synflorescences, rarely solitary, 8-15 mm; branch bracts several, linear, peduncles with scalelike bracteoles. Involucre broadly obconic, 6-10 × 3-5 mm; phyllaries 4-or 5-seriate, pale green, sometimes apically pinkish purple, abaxially glabrous or glabrate, membranous, margin narrowly to ± broadly scarious, erose-fimbriate, shortly arachnoid ciliate, 1-veined, outer short, ovate-lanceolate, apex acute, inner long, oblong, apex rounded or obtuse, sometimes acute. Ray florets 10-15, lamina pinkish violet, oblong, 13-15 × 2-3 mm; disk florets 45-50, pale yellow, often becoming pinkish purple tinged, 6-7 mm, limb narrowly funnelform, lobes oblong-lanceolate. Achenes oblong, 5-5.5 mm, white strigose. Pappus whitish, 5-7 mm. Fl. Jul-Sep.
Steppes, stony slopes and shrubby formations, mainly in the mid-mountain zone. Mountain slopes, grasslands, stony slopes; at elevations from 1,100-1,800 metres in western China.
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