Herbs 12-20 cm tall. Petiole deep brownish purplish green, narrowly winged or unwinged; leaf blade deep green slightly suffused brownish purple, ± oblanceolate, 10-20 × 1.5-3.5 cm, sparsely arachnoid on purplish brown midvein, pinnatisect; lateral lobes 3-5 pairs, ± narrowly triangular, 6-17 × 5-10 mm, ± patent to subrecurved, proximal margin straight and entire, distal margin ± straight to ± sigmoid and entire or with a few acute teeth, apex acute; interlobes with margin ± entire; terminal lobe broadly triangular, margin entire, apex subacute to mucronate. Scapes purplish brown, subequaling leaves, sparsely arachnoid to glabrescent. Capitulum ca. 3 cm wide. Involucre ca. 8 mm wide, base ± rounded. Outer phyllaries 15-18, abaxially dark (blackish) grayish green, slightly pruinose, and suffused brownish purple in upper ca. 1/3, subimbricate, broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, outermost ones (5-)6-7 × (3-)3.5-4.5 mm and ca. 1/2 as long as inner ones, loosely appressed, border whitish and 0.1-0.2 mm wide, margin subglabrous or sparsely ciliate, apex flat; inner phyllaries 1-1.1 cm, apex flat. Ligules deep yellow; outer ligules ± flat, outside striped deep gray; inner ligules with long yellow teeth at apex; ligule tube pubescent. Stigmas pure yellow, abaxially pale yellow pubescent. Anthers without pollen. Achene light grayish olivaceous brown, 3.6-4.1 × 0.8-0.9 mm; body ± densely spinulose above, erect-patent, ± gradually narrowing into a subcylindric 0.5-0.8 mm cone, spinules thin; beak (7-)8-11 mm. Pappus white, ca. 6 mm. Fl. late spring. Agamosperm.
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