Plants 6–18(–40) cm. Stems decumbent to ascending. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, 50–140 × 9–16 mm, margins entire or slightly undulate . Involucres 20–34 mm wide. Phyllaries narrowly obovate, apices abruptly acute. Cypsela faces sericeous. 2n = 12.

Flowering Jun–Sep. Meadows, open rocky slopes, limestone outcrops in shrub communities; 2500–3800 m; Colo., Utah, Wyo.

R. A. Mayes (1976) suggested a relationship between var. clementis and Pyrrocoma crocea.