Herbs 2-3 cm tall, perennial, stemless. Caudex short, simple. Rosette leaves sessile, narrowly obovate-oblong to linear, 3.5-6 × 0.6-1.5 cm, herbaceous, abaxially pale green and glabrous, adaxially green, black when dry and sparsely pubescent or glabrescent, margin entire, revolute, and densely ciliate, apex obtuse. Uppermost leaves usually merging into phyllaries. Capitulum solitary, in center of leaf rosette, sessile. Involucre campanulate, 1-1.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 3 or 4 rows, purple, glabrous, margin ciliate, apex obtuse; outer phyllaries elliptic, 8-10 × ca. 4 mm, basal part purple and leathery, apical part green and leaflike; middle phyllaries elliptic to narrowly ovate, 10-14 × 3-4 mm, purple; inner phyllaries narrowly ovate-elliptic to linear, 13-16 × 2-3 mm, purple, apex obtuse. Receptacle without bristles. Corolla bluish purple, 1.3-1.7 cm, tube 9-10 mm, limb 4-8 mm, lobes 3-5 mm. Achene ca. 3 mm, ribbed, glabrous. Pappus straw-colored; outer bristles short, scabrid; inner bristles 1.1-1.5 cm. Fl. and fr. Aug.
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