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.

Flowering May-Aug. Sagebrush to pinyon-juniper and yellow pine, shale and sandstone, ridges, bases of cliffs, shale gravel, clay flats with Artemisia; 1700-2900 m; Colo., Utah, Wyo.