Herbs, perennial, 3-15 cm tall; rhizomes procumbent, with several long, slender stolons (to 30 cm) with rosettes. Stems ascending or erect, reddish, sparsely to moderately villous, eglandular. Leaves basal and cauline, sparsely to moderately pilose to glabrate, margin revolute, ciliate, apex obtuse, sometimes acute, mucronulate; basal leaves withered by anthesis, winged petiolate (petiole to 6.5 cm); blade spatulate or elliptic, 0.7-3.5 × 0.5-1.3 cm, thick, base attenuate, margin serrate, midvein pronounced; cauline leaves abruptly reduced, few, sessile or (lower leaves) shortly petiolate; blade linear or oblong to oblanceolate or obovate, 0.5-2.5 × 0.1-0.8 cm, 3-veined, base attenuate, margin entire or 1- or 2-denticulate or -serrate, apex acute or obtuse. Capitula terminal, solitary, ca. 2.5 cm in diam. Involucres hemispheric, 13-18 × 8-12 mm; phyllaries 3-seriate, equal, sometimes squarrose, lanceolate or oblanceolate, 8-12 × 1.5-3.5 mm, abaxially glabrous, membranous, shiny, margin scarious, ciliate, purplish, midvein apparent, sometimes strigillose, apex acuminate, purplish. Ray florets 29-42, violet, lamina 8-10 × 1.5-2 mm, tube and abaxial lamina base strigillose, eglandular; disk florets yellow (anther appendages bluish), 4-5 mm, limb funnelform, 2.5-3.5 mm, base sparsely hairy, lobes spreading, triangular, ca. 1 mm. Achenes (immature) obovoid, 2.2-3 mm, strigillose, minutely stipitate glandular, 2-ribbed. Pappus 3- or 4-seriate, white or whitish; outermost series of narrow scales, 0.3-0.8 mm; outer bristles slender, 3.5-4 mm; inner bristles 5.5-6 mm, acute; innermost bristles 6-6.5 mm, clavate. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Rocks near streamsides, among boulders in alpine tundra; 3300-4800 m. S Xizang (Tingri) [Bhutan, India, Nepal].