Herbs, perennial, 7-15 cm tall, with slender woody taproot; stems erect or ascending, branched from base to ± form mat, white lanate. Petiole lanate, base enlarged; leaf blade lanceolate-ovate to oblong, 0.7-1.5 × 0.5-0.8 cm, pinnatisect, both surfaces gray-green, white lanate. Capitula solitary, terminal, several per plant; peduncle 4-8 cm. Involucres coryliform, 8-12 mm in diam.; phyllaries in 3 rows, herbaceous, scarious margin nearly absent, outer phyllaries linear-lanceolate, apex acute, inner ones linear-oblong, scarious margin broad, hyaline. Florets yellow, 5-lobed. Achenes ca. 2 mm, 5-ribbed, sparsely villous. Corona scales 5, 3 of these aristate mucronate. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep.

Mountain slopes; 1500-2000 m. Gansu, Ningxia, Xizang [Mongolia].