Herbs 5-13 cm tall, delicate. Petiole pale green or sometimes pinkish, ± unwinged; leaf blade mid-green, narrowly oblanceolate in outline, 2-8 × 0.8-1.5(-2.3) cm, sparsely arachnoid, pinnatilobed to pinnatisect, midvein pale green or purplish; lateral lobes 2-5 pairs, variably shaped from hamate-triangular to linear-triangular, 2-13 mm, strongly recurved or rarely to ± patent, margin usually entire or rarely sparsely denticulate, apex ± obtuse; interlobes short, narrow, margin entire or with 1 or 2 minute teeth; terminal lobe narrowly helmet-shaped to lingulate, margin entire, apex subobtuse. Scapes brownish green, sparsely to densely arachnoid below capitulum. Capitulum 1.5-3 cm wide. Involucre 5-7 mm wide, base narrowly rounded to ± obconic. Outer phyllaries 13-18, green to blackish green, ± not imbricate, linear-lanceolate to linear-triangular, outermost ones (3-)5-8 × 0.9-1.5 mm and to 3/4 as long as inner ones, appressed to erect, border whitish green and ca. 0.2 mm or not visible, margin sparsely ciliate, with a horn 1-1.5 mm or corniculate below apex or sometimes apex flat; inner phyllaries green, 1-1.4 cm, apex flat to corniculate. Ligules (pale) yellow; outer ligules ± flat, outside striped grayish green to grayish purple; inner ligules with long apically blackish or yellow teeth. Stigmas green. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains regular in size. Achene gray, straw-colored brown, yellowish, blackish brown, or brick red, 3-3.5 × 1-1.2 mm; body distally subsparsely spinulose, finely squamulose, or ± smooth below, subabruptly narrowing into a subconic 0.4-0.8(-1) mm cone; beak 6-7.5 mm. Pappus yellowish white, 4-5 mm. Fl. late summer. Sexual.
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