Rhizome thickish, with numerous branches; upper leaves squamate, withered terminal rosette leaves and flowering stems congested to pulvinate. Stems erect or ascending, 3-7(-17) cm, slender, herbaceous, simple, white-canescent arachnoid tomentose, densely leafy. Rosette leaves and lower leaves spatulate, oblong, or linear-spatulate, 0.5-3 × 0.3-0.7 cm, base attenuate to a broadly winged long petiole, margin flat, apex rounded; upper leaves gradually smaller, erect or adherent to stem, oblanceolate or linear-oblong, base decurrent on stem into a short narrow wing, apex obtuse with short cusp or acuminate with withered long cusp; all leaves sparsely canescent taupe tomentose on both surfaces, basal and upper parts except margin usually denuded or with capitate glandular hairs, distinctly 3-veined, midvein raised on both surfaces, lateral veins raised abaxially, or upper leaves 1-veined. Capitula 5-10, densely compound corymbiform; peduncle short. Involucre broadly campanulate or obconical, 5-6 × ca. 6 mm; phyllaries 5-seriate, expanding; outer phyllaries ovate, ca. 3 mm, tomentose; middle ones oblong-lanceolate, ca. 6 × 2 mm, lower parts puce or purple-brown, acute at apex, in female florets slightly obtuse; innermost ones linear-oblong, ca. 4 mm, with a claw ca. 3/4 of full length. Receptacle with chaffy hairs. Predominantly female capitula with numerous marginal female florets, center with 3 or 4 male florets; predominantly male capitula with male florets only. Corolla tube ca. 3.5 mm. Pappus exceeding corolla, incrassate at tip of apex in male florets, serrulate. Achenes obovoid-oblong, ca. 1.5 mm, tomentose. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 28*.

Alpine grasslands and lichen-covered areas; 3800-4000 m. S Xizang [Bhutan, N India, Nepal].