Herbs 10-18 cm tall, perennial, monocarpic. Caudex to 2 cm in diam., unbranched. Stem solitary, erect, simple, hidden by leaves. Lower and middle stem leaves petiolate; leaf blade narrowly elliptic, 3-5 × 0.5-2.5 cm, pinnatisect, abaxially grayish white, arachnoid tomentose to lanate, and gland-dotted, adaxially green and arachnoid to glabrescent; lobes 5-10 pairs, linear, 5-10 × 1-2 mm, margin entire, apex acute. Uppermost stem leaves sessile, linear, 2-3 × 0.1-0.2 cm, reflexed, both surfaces densely yellowish white lanate, margin entire, apex acute. Capitula numerous, in a hemispheric synflorescence 4-6 cm in diam., sessile. Involucre cylindric, 0.5-0.8 mm in diam. Phyllaries in 3 or 4 rows; outer phyllaries narrowly triangular-ovate, 10-15 × 3-5 mm, apically yellowish lanate, apex acuminate; middle and inner phyllaries narrowly elliptic to linear, 9-15 × 2-3 mm, apically sparsely pilose, margin membranous, apex acute. Receptacle bristles brown, 1-3 mm. Corolla blackish purple, 1-1.4 cm, tube 7-8 mm, limb 6-7 mm, lobes 2-3 mm. Achene black, obconic, 4-5 mm, smooth, glabrous. Pappus straw-colored; outer bristles 3-4 mm; inner bristles 1-1.3 cm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct.
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A herb. It grows 10-18 cm tall. It keeps growing from year to year. It has a fattened rootstock 2 cm across. A single stem arises from this and is hidden by leaves. The leaves are narrowly oval and 3-5 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. It is divided along the stalk. There are 5-10 pairs of narrow lobes. The leaves are greyish white underneath. There are several flower heads in a group.
It is a temperate plant. It grows on alpine scree slopes between 3,200-5,300 m above sea level in Tibet. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
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