Herbs, perennial, conspicuously caulescent, without cataphylls above root. Taproot long. Stem solitary, 10-33 cm tall, 1-2 cm in diam., erect, hollow, leafy. Leaves narrowly elliptic, 4-13 × 1.5-3.5 cm, pinnatipartite to pinnatisect, glabrous or sparsely pilose, lobes ± triangular; upper stem leaves similar but gradually smaller and densely pilose. Synflorescence cylindric, elongate, to 13 cm, with numerous densely crowded capitula. Capitula with 4 florets. Peduncle < 10 mm. Involucre narrowly cylindric, 10-11 × 2-3 mm. Phyllaries dark green, densely pilose; outer phyllaries 2, linear, ca. 10 × 0.5 mm, yellow pilose; inner phyllaries 4, brown villous, apex obtuse. Florets yellow. Anther tube and style blackish. Achene cylindric to subfusiform, ca. 5 mm, subequally ribbed and between main ribs usually with 3 or 4 secondary ribs, apex truncate. Pappus whitish but grayish apically, 0.9-1.1 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 16*.