Plants densely tufted to cushion-forming. Caudex branches stout, columnar, at least partly sheathed with marcescent whole leaves. Stems ascending, 0.2–0.8 dm, lengths 1.5–2.5 times basal leaves. Basal leaves 1.5–4 cm; petiole 0.5–2 cm, long hairs absent or sparse to common (less so than cottony hairs), ± appressed, 1–2 mm, soft, smooth, cottony hairs dense, other hairs and glands absent, sparse, or obscured; leaflets touching to overlapping, central broadly elliptic to obovate, 0.7–1.1 × 0.5–0.6 cm, sessile or short-petiolulate, ?petiolule to 1 mm?, base cuneate, margins revolute, distal 1/2–3/4 incised ± 1/2 to midvein, teeth 2–4 per side, approximate, surfaces ± dissimilar, abaxial white to grayish white, long hairs 1 mm, cottony-crisped hairs dense, adaxial grayish green to grayish white, long and short-crisped hairs abundant to dense. Cauline leaves 0–1. Inflorescences 1–2(–3)-flowered. Pedicels 0.4–0.7 cm in flower, to 2 cm in fruit. Flowers: epicalyx bractlets lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 2–2.2 × 0.6–0.9 mm, 1/4–1/2 as wide as sepals, margins flat, red glands absent; hypanthium 1.8–2.2 mm diam.; sepals 3–3.5 mm, apex subacute; petals 4–5 × 2.5–4 mm, longer than sepals; filaments 1–1.5 mm, anthers 0.5 mm; carpels 30–40, apical hairs absent, styles narrowly columnar, not or ± papillate-swollen in proximal 1/5 or less, 1.2–1.4 mm. Achenes 1.1–1.4 mm.