Perennials, 4–18 cm; taprooted, caudex branches relatively short, thick. Stems erect (greenish), usually closely appressed-strigose, sometimes glabrate, eglandular. Leaves mostly basal or basal (persistent, persistent portion relatively long and slender-fibrous) and cauline (greenish); basal blades 1-nerved linear to linear-oblanceolate or oblanceolate or narrowly spatulate, (20–)30–80 × (0.5–)1–3 mm, cauline reduced distally (bases attenuate, not thickened and whitish-indurate) margins entire (apices obtuse or rounded), faces abaxially glabrous or glabrate, adaxially sparsely strigose, eglandular. Heads 1(–3 rarely, from branches at midstem). Involucres (3.5–)4-–6.5 × (5–)6–13 mm. Phyllaries in 2–4 series (greenish or sometimes purple, margins thickened), strigose to loosely strigoso-hirsute, sometimes more densely so on distal 1/3, sparsely minutely glandular. Ray florets 15–55; corollas white to pink, 4–8 mm, laminae coiling. Disc corollas (2.8–)3.5–4.3 mm. Cypselae 2.2–2.9 mm, 2-nerved, faces and margins villoso-hirsute, sometimes more densely so on nerves; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 15–25 bristles.
