Stems procumbent to erect, 5–10 cm. Leaf blades ovate to oblanceolate or obovate, 1–35 × 7–16 mm. Phyllaries 12–20, subequal. Ray corollas 1.5–2.5 mm. Cyp­selae: rays 4 mm (with awns 2–3 mm), clearly 3-faced, adaxial faces often 2–3-nerved; discs ± mono-morphic within heads, ± 4-angled to compressed, none winged. 2n = 32.

Flowering summer–late fall. Open places, compact, clay soils; 0–30 m; Tex.; Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas).