Herbs 7-15 cm tall. Rhizomes long, procumbent. Stems single or few, decumbent or ascending, simple or sparingly branched, glabrous. Leaves narrowly elliptic, lanceolate-elliptic, or lanceolate, leathery, inconspicuously puberulent especially on margin or glabrous. Basal and lower stem leaves shortly petiolate; leaf blade 3-7 × 0.7-2 cm, base attenuate, margin toothed; teeth with cartilaginous tip. Middle stem leaves sessile, base semiamplexicaul, margin toothed below middle. Uppermost stem leaves broadly linear, margin entire. Capitula 1-3. Involucre ovoid-cylindric, 1.8-2.5 cm in diam., glabrous or subglabrous. Phyllaries in 7-9 rows; outer phyllaries triangular to ovate-lanceolate, 5-7 × ca. 3 mm, apex acute and with a straight or patent 1-2 mm spinule; middle phyllaries elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic, 9-12 × ca. 3 mm, with an apical straight or patent 1.5-2 mm spinule; inner phyllaries lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, or broadly linear, 1.6-2.2 × ca. 0.2 cm. Corolla purple to pink, ca. 2.5 cm. Achene brown, ellipsoid, ca. 6 mm. Pappus pale, ca. 1.3 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.
Home