A herb. It grows 15-45 cm tall. It keeps growing from year to year. The stem occurs singly and is 2 cm across. It is hidden by the leaves. There is a ring of leaves at the base as well as leaves on the stem. These have leaf stalks. The leaves are narrowly oval and 5-15 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. There is a brownish white coating underneath the leaves. There are several flower heads in an arrangement 8 cm across.
It is a temperate plant. It grows in Tibet on alpine scree slopes between 3,200-5,500 m above sea level. In Yunnan.