Rhizome slender or thickish, somewhat woody; sobols short, with brown scales, terminal and white tomentose rosette leaves, caespitose with flowering stems. Stems erect from geniculate base, 20-45 cm, lower parts usually glabrous, upper parts white or ash-gray or whitish yellow cottony tomentose and capitate-stalked glandular hairy, rather densely leafy. Lower leaves often caducous and lost by anthesis, middle and upper leaves somewhat erect or spreading, linear or oblong-linear, 1.5-4(-7) × 0.2-0.8 cm, densely whitish yellow cottony tomentose and capitate-stalked glandular hairy, base decurrent on stems and forming a narrow wing, somewhat thickish, margin somewhat recurved or flat, sometimes undulate, apex obtuse or acuminate, with long subula; midvein exserted abaxially, lateral veins not conspicuous. Capitula numerous (rarely few to 5), compound corymbiform, dense, terminal on stems and branches; peduncle short; common peduncle of synflorescence ca. 3 cm, with subulate-linear bract. Involucre campanulate, 6-8 × 6-8 mm; phyllaries 5- or 6-seriate; outer phyllaries tomentose, ca. 2 mm; middle ones somewhat yellow or dirty white, light brownish at base, oblanceolate-elliptic, ca. 5 mm, ca. 2 mm wide in male florets, ca. 1.5 mm wide in female florets, apex obtuse or rounded; innermost ones linear-oblong, with a claw ca. 2/3 of full length. Receptacle shallowly alveolate. Outer rows of predominantly female capitula female, 1 or 2 male florets present in center; predominantly male capitula with male florets only. Corolla ca. 4 mm. Pappus almost equaling corolla, relatively thick and flat in male florets, dentate. Achene oblong, ca. 1 mm, rarely longer, almost glabrous. Fl. Jul-Oct, fr. Sep-Nov.

● Alpine to low hill grasslands, deserts, under shrubs, conifer forests; 2000-3800 m. E and W Gansu, Qinghai, SW and W Sichuan, E Xizang, N and W Yunnan.