Subshrubs. Rhizome thickish; sobols or sterile stems erect or ascending, densely withered, marcescent leafy and with distinct axillary buds and terminal buds. Flowering stems arising from axillary buds, 5-40 cm or more, often slender, upper parts herbaceous, simple, tomentose or cauliferous glandular pilose, sparsely leafy. Leaves expanding or somewhat erect, linear, linear-lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 1-3.5 × 0.1-0.7 cm, uniformly wide or base attenuate, decurrent on stem into a narrow or broad green wing, apex acute or acuminate, with short cusp; upper leaves acuminate, with long cusp, margin revolute; all leaves thickly arachnoid tomentose or cauliferous glandular pilose. Capitula 5-50, densely corymbiform or compound corymbiform; peduncle 1-2 mm. Involucre narrowly campanulate, 4-5 mm, rarely to 6 mm; phyllaries ca. 6-seriate, expanding; outer phyllaries brown, broadly ovate, ca. 1.5 mm, tomentose, slightly acute; middle ones lingulate-elliptic, 3-3.5 × ca. 1 mm, ca. 1.5 mm wide in male capitula, apex white, obtuse or rounded; innermost ones ca. 4 mm, with a ca. 3/4 of full length claw. Receptacle with fimbrillate appendage. Predominantly female capitula with numerous marginal female florets, center with 1-4 male florets; predominantly male capitula with male florets only. Corolla tube ca. 3 mm. Pappus slightly exceeding corolla, incrassate at tip of apex in male florets, serrulate. Achenes oblong, ca. 1 mm, densely papillose. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep.

This species is extremely variable.

● Alpine or subalpine shrublands, slopes, rocky places, valleys, and banks; 2000-4000 m. NW and W Sichuan, NW Yunnan.