Herbs, perennial. Rhizome slender and usually branched, subwoody, erect or procumbent, densely covered with brown decayed leaves with dense radical rosettes of sterile leaves and numerous filiform radicals. Stems solitary or 3 or 4, usually 5-10(-18) cm tall, not branched, with 5-15(-30) leaves, entire plant light gray tomentose, but subglabrous on abaxial surface of leaves; stems sometimes not developed and plant forming sessile heads, not exceeding ca. 3 cm in height. Leaves lanceolate, lanceolate-oblong, or oblong-spatulate, 20-25 × 2.5-4.5 mm, abaxially white and densely covered with light gray tomentum, adaxially covered with sparse light gray tomentum and appearing greenish, lateral veins indistinct, base narrowed, apex obtuse or acute. Capitula 5-9, unisexual, dioecious, or heterogamous, 4.5-5.5 mm in diam.; bracteal leaves 9-12, densely arranged, oblong, larger than upper leaves, forming a star of 3-5.5 cm in diam., both surfaces densely grayish white tomentose, apex acute or obtuse. Phyllaries ca. 3-seriate, ovate, ca. 4 mm, apex obtuse, abaxially often green, brown to almost black adaxially. Corolla ca. 3 mm; corolla of male floret funnelform; corolla of female floret filiform. Achenes papillose. Pappus white, longer than corolla, serrulate. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jun-Aug.
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