Stems and leaves densely caespitose, pulvinate. Stems erect or ascending, 4-8 cm (or plants acaulescent), herbaceous, slender, canescent tomentose, densely leafy, or upper part sparse. Basal leaves persistent during efflorescence, homomorphic with rosette leaves, obovate, oblanceolate, or spatulate-elliptic, 0.3-2 × 0.3-0.7 cm, apex acute; middle and upper leaves (if present) erect or adherent to stem, lanceolate or oblanceolate-oblong, rather acerose, base decurrent on stem into a short cuneate wing, margin smooth, apex acute or acuminate, often with withered cusp; all leaves keeled on both surfaces, canescent yellow tomentose, base sometimes glabrous, 1-veined or indistinctly 3-veined. Capitula 2-15, glomerulate or simple, without distinct peduncle. Involucre broadly campanulate, 9-11 × 10-12 mm, slightly exceeding disk; phyllaries 4- or 5-seriate, somewhat expanding; outer phyllaries brown, elliptic, ca. 4 mm, tomentose; middle ones white, upper parts white or ochroleucous, oblong-lanceolate, 9-10 × 2-3 mm, acute at apex; innermost ones linear-oblanceolate, ca. 8 mm, with a claw ca. 2/3 of full length. Receptacle with chaffy process. Capitula with numerous marginal female florets, center of predominantly female capitula with 1-5 male florets. Corolla tube 4-5 mm. Pappus equaling corolla. Achenes obovoid-oblong, ca. 2 mm, densely papillose. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep.

No specimens of this species were seen by the second author.

● Mountaintops, on granite of alpine glacial valleys, rocky or grassy slopes; 3000-4800 m. W Sichuan, E Xizang, NW Yunnan.