Herbs, perennial, 20-35 cm tall, caespitose; rhizome vertical, ascending, branching. Stems several or solitary, erect, 1-2.5 mm in diam. at base, simple, green, hirsute-villous, stipitate glandular below capitula. Leaves green; basal dense, rosulate, long petiolate, blade oblanceolate, (specimen too damaged to provide dimensions), surfaces sparsely villous-strigose, strigillose, conspicuously 3-veined, base attenuate, margin entire or 1- or 2-serrulate, villous-ciliate; lower cauline shortly petiolate, blade oblanceolate, mid and upper sessile, blade lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 0.8-5 × 0.3-1.4 cm, base ± rounded, subclasping, margin entire, apex acute or acuminate; uppermost with surfaces villous, margin villous-ciliate. Capitula solitary, 10-13 × 20-25 mm. Involucre hemispheric, 7-10 × 15-20 mm; phyllaries 3-seriate, green, apex and midvein purplish, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, ± densely villous, outer shorter, inner slightly longer than or rarely equaling disk florets, ca. 0.5 mm wide, 1-veined. Ray florets 3-seriate, lilac, 7-8.5 mm, tube ca. 3 mm, hairy, lamina ca. 0.4 mm wide, flat; disk florets yellow, 5-5.1 mm, tube ca. 2.5 mm, hairy, limb narrowly funnelform, lobes triangular, ca. 0.4 mm, purplish. Achenes tan, narrowly oblong, compressed, 2-2.5 mm, strigose. Pappus 2-seriate, yellowish, outer bristles ca. 0.5 mm, inner 5-6 mm. Fl. Jul.

● Alpine meadows; ca. 3200 m. S Shaanxi (Taibai Shan).