Perennials, 5-10 cm. Leaves: basal 2-pinnate, 3-20 cm, lobes 2-50 × 0.5-2(-3) mm; cauline 0-12. Heads 1-60 per stem. Peduncles 1-16 cm. Phyllaries whitish to yellowish, 3-14 × 2-5 mm. Ray florets 0. Disc florets 10-80; cor-ollas usually yellowish, sometimes whitish, 2.2-7 mm, tubes 1-2.5 mm, throats campanulate, 1-3 mm, lengths 2-8 times lobes. Cypselae 3-7 mm, ± hirtellous to villous; pappi of 12-22 scales 0.1-3 mm. Some plants are morphologically intermediate between some pairs of varieties of Hymenopappus filifolius as treated by B. L. Turner (1956).

Plant: Low subshrub; herbage densely tomentose, 0.5-10 dm, from taproot bearing 1-several caudices; stem erect Leaves: leaves alternate, pinnatifid to dissected, often all basal, minutely gland-dotted INFLORESCENCE: primary inflorescence a head, each resembling a flower; heads discoid, in 1-many-headed panicles; peduncles 0.5-16 cm; principal phyllaries 3-14 mm, 2-5 mm wide, margin white or yellowish scarious for 1-4 mm from acute to obtuse tip; flowers 10-70 per head Flowers: corollas 2-7 mm, yellow Fruit: achenes, 3-7 mm, densely short-hairy, obpyramidal, 4-angled; pappus scales 12-22, generally linear-oblong Misc: Many ± dry habitats, sometimes on limestone; ± 1000-3000 m.