Subshrubs, 15-100 cm tall, sometimes shrublike, caespitose, caudex woody. Stems branched, bark gray-brown, lacerate; branches erect, densely leafy, sparsely to densely villosulous, often in decurrent lines below leaves, minutely stipitate glandular. Leaves cauline, slightly reduced upward; lower leaves withered by anthesis, shortly petiolate; blade oblong or linear-oblong, sometimes conduplicate and arched, 0.5-2(-3) × 0.1-0.5(-0.8) cm, abaxially densely strigillose, minutely gland-dotted, sometimes stipitate glandular on veins, adaxially strigose, base decurrent, attenuate to cuneate, margin entire, strigose-ciliate, midvein abaxially prominent, apex obtuse to acute, mucronate. Capitula in corymbiform, sometimes paniculate-corymbiform, synflorescences, or solitary; peduncles 10-30 mm, strigillose, minutely short- to long-stipitate glandular; bracts remote, lanceolate to oblanceolate, 5-10 mm. Involucres cylindric-campanulate, 5-8 mm; phyllaries 4-6-seriate, unequal, base hardened, ± keeled, midvein translucent distally, apex acute; outer phyllaries lanceolate, 3-4 × 0.1-0.7 mm, abaxially sparsely to moderately strigillose distally (leaflike part), densely minutely stipitate glandular, leaflike to distally leaflike, margin broadly scarious, narrowly so distally or not (when leaflike), ciliate; middle phyllaries lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 5-7 × 0.5-0.7 mm, margin narrowly to broadly scarious, ciliate, purplish (except leaflike ones), distal 1/10-1/4 leaflike to green area purplish, sparsely strigillose or minutely stipitate glandular in leaflike part; inner phyllaries linear-lanceolate, 6-7 × ca. 1 mm, scarious, tip purplish, sparsely minutely stipitate glandular. Ray florets 10-20, lavender or lilac to purple, tube distal 1/2 and lamina base strigillose, sometimes sparsely stipitate glandular, lamina 7-10 × 1.2-2 mm; disk florets yellow, 5-6.5 mm, limb funnelform, ca. 4 mm, lobes spreading, narrowly triangular, 0.7-1.2 mm, tip glabrous, sparsely stipitate glandular. Achenes obovoid to elliptic, compressed, 3-3.5 mm, sparsely strigillose, minutely stipitate glandular, mostly on ribs, 2- or 3-ribbed. Pappus 4-seriate, straw-colored, of slender, barbellate bristles; outermost bristles few, very slender, 0.1-0.5 mm; outer bristles few, very slender, 2.5-3 mm; inner bristles 4.2-4.5 mm, tapering; innermost bristles 4.5-5 mm, tip flattened. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Aug-Oct.

● Dry slopes, rocky cliffs, stony places, Artemisia-Stipa formations, xerophytic shrublands, riverbanks, roadsides; 800-4200 m. S Gansu, E Qinghai, Shaanxi, W Sichuan, E Xizang.