Herbs, perennial, 2-8 cm tall; rhizomes often vertical, stout, with stolons (to 2-4 cm), collar with marcescent leaf remains. Stems erect, simple, usually purple-brown, sparsely villous at base, more densely so above (hairs with purple crosswalls). Leaves glabrous, triplinerved, with fine 1-paired marginal veins; basal leaves rosulate, present at anthesis, shortly and broadly or narrowly winged petiolate; blade spatulate to oblanceolate, 1-3 × 0.3-0.5 cm, margin entire, eciliate or sparsely ciliate, base gradually attenuate, apex rounded to obtuse, retuse, 3-mucronulate; cauline leaves 3 or 4, oblanceolate, 1-2 × 0.2-0.4 cm, sessile or rarely petiolate. Capitula terminal, solitary, 2-2.5 cm in diam. Involucres hemispheric, ca. 1 cm in diam.; phyllaries 3-seriate, subequal, lanceolate, 6.5-9 × 1.5-2.5 mm, abaxially glabrous, ± leaflike at least above, margin villous-ciliate (purple crosswalls), of inner phyllaries broadly scarious, erose-fimbriate, apex acute or acuminate, recurved, margin and apex purplish. Ray florets 16-25, purplish mauve, tube ca. 2.5 mm, hairy distally, lamina 10-18 × ca. 1.5 mm; disk florets yellow and purplish in distal 1/2, 3.5-6 mm, tube 2-2.5 mm, limb narrowly funnelform, lobes lanceolate, ca. 0.8 mm, ± recurved. Achenes (immature) ovoid, compressed, ca. 2 mm, strigose, 2-ribbed. Pappus 4-seriate, yellowish; outermost bristles 0.5-1 mm; outer bristles slender, ca. 2 mm; inner bristles ca. 4.5 mm, acute; innermost bristles ca. 5.5 mm, clavate. Fl. Jul-Aug.

Aster retusus resembles A. batangensis in leaf shape but differs in habit and leaf surface pubescence.

● Alpine meadows or on rocks; 4000-4300 m. SE Xizang.