Herbs 12-16 cm tall, annual. Stem solitary, whitish to grayish white, with ascending robust branches, densely cobwebby to thickly lanate. Leaves thickly papery, subconcolorous, both surfaces densely cobwebby to thickly lanate. Lower cauline leaves shortly petiolate; leaf blade oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate, 4-8 × 1-1.2 cm, pinnately lobed to pinnatifid; segments 2-4(or 5) pairs, narrowly ovate, triangular-lanceolate, or triangular, with sparse spiny teeth. Upper cauline leaves similar but gradually smaller upward. Pseudocephalia several, 2.5-3 cm in diam. Capitula ca. 1.3 cm. Phyllaries 12-14; outermost phyllaries linear, slightly shorter than involucre, abaxially strigose, claw margin long ciliate, distal portion slightly expanded, margin shortly ciliate, and apex spinulose acuminate; middle phyllaries narrowly elliptic, ca. 1 cm, abaxially cobwebby on proximal portion, margin shortly ciliate, apex densely strigose and spinulose acuminate; inner phyllaries narrowly elliptic, abaxially cobwebby, apex bidentate. Corolla blue, tube outside sparsely glandular hairy and gland-dotted. Achene ca. 5 mm. Pappus scales linear, ca. 1.3 mm, proximal half connate. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul.

Deserts; 1300-1500 m. Xinjiang (Pamir, Tian Shan) [Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan].