Herbs 10-15 cm tall, perennial, caespitose. Caudex stout, branched, densely covered with blackish brown remains of petioles, sterile leaf rosettes, and flowering stems. Stem ca. 4 mm in diam., erect, simple. Rosette and basal leaves sessile, narrowly elliptic to linear, 5-9 × 0.2-0.5 cm, abaxially grayish green and densely tomentose, adaxially green or yellowish green, sparsely pilose, glabrescent, and nitid, base widened and sheathing, margin revolute and entire or denticulate, apex acute. Stem leaves few, similar to basal leaves. Uppermost stem leaves subtending and exceeding capitulum, merging into phyllaries. Capitulum solitary, terminal on stem. Involucre turbinate-campanulate, 1.5-2 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, sparsely to densely villous, apex acuminate; outer phyllaries narrowly ovate, 12-13 × 2.5-3 mm; middle phyllaries narrowly elliptic, 12-13(-16) × 2-3 mm; inner phyllaries broadly linear, 14-15 × 1.5-2 mm. Corolla dark purple, 0.9-1.1(-1.5) cm, tube 4-5 mm, limb 5-6 mm, lobes 2.5-3 mm. Achene brown, ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous, apex with a short crown. Pappus pale brown; outer bristles 1.5-3 mm; inner bristles 7-8 mm. Fl. and fr. Sep-Oct.
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