Herbs 3-15 cm tall, perennial, polycarpic, sometimes caespitose. Caudex simple or branched at ground level. Stem solitary, 2-5 mm in diam., erect, simple. Rosette and lower stem leaves long petiolate; petiole green; leaf blade narrowly obovate-spatulate, elliptic, or oblong, 1-3 × 0.3-1 cm, both surfaces green but sometimes tinged purple and glabrous or sparsely white arachnoid, base attenuate, margin obtusely dentate or entire, apex obtuse. Upper stem leaves sessile, narrowly triangular-ovate, usually reflexed, both surfaces white and blackish lanate, margin crenate or entire, apex obtuse to acuminate. Capitula 5-15, in a hemispheric synflorescence 2-4 cm in diam., sessile. Involucre cylindric, 5-6 mm in diam. Phyllaries in ca. 3 rows, membranous; outer phyllaries narrowly elliptic-linear, 8-9 × 1.5-2 mm, densely black and white lanate, apex subacute; middle and inner phyllaries obovate-elliptic, 8-9 × 2-3 mm, apex acute. Receptacle bristles 0.5-1.5 mm. Corolla rose-purple, 7-8(-9) mm, tube 3-4(-5) mm, limb 3.5-4(-5) mm, lobes (1.2-)1.5-2 mm. Achene brown, cylindric to obconic, 4-5 mm, smooth, glabrous. Pappus mouse-gray to blackish; outer bristles 1-3 mm, reflexed and appressed on achene; inner bristles 7-8 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.
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