Herbs 15-20 cm tall, base usually thickened by remnants of old petioles. Petiole purplish, ± unwinged; leaf blade glaucous green to grayish green, linear to linear-oblanceolate, ca. 10 × 0.8-1.1 cm, ± glabrous, margin subentire, remotely dentate, or shallowly lobed, midvein pinkish; lateral lobes or teeth 1-3 pairs, sometimes alternate, mostly 3-4 mm, apex linear, narrow, and patent; interlobes long, margin entire; terminal lobe conspicuously elongated, to 3 cm, margin entire. Scapes brownish green, overtopping leaves, ± glabrous to sparsely arachnoid. Capitulum ca. 2 cm wide. Involucre 7-8 mm wide, base ± rounded. Outer phyllaries 10-13, dark green, ± not imbricate, linear-lanceolate, outermost ones 5-7 × 1.2-1.5 mm and 1/2-2/3 as long as inner ones, ± subappressed, with a narrow paler border ± white at base and distally pinkish, margin subglabrous, apex with a conspicuous perpendicular horn; inner phyllaries 1.3-1.5 cm, with a horn below apex. Ligules yellow, subtubular to involute; outer ligules outside striped pale grayish pink. Stigmas dark. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene dark gray, 3.5-4 × 1.1-1.3 mm; body distally spinulose, subabruptly narrowing into a thick subcylindric 0.8-0.9 × ca. 0.4 mm cone; beak longer than ca. 5 mm. Pappus ± yellowish white, 6-7 mm. Fl. summer. Agamosperm.
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