Perennials, 20-70 cm (polycarpic, often with sparingly branched, woody caudices). Stems 1-5, green throughout or purple-red-tinted distally to throughout, usually unbranched distally, ± hairy (often tomentose proximally). Leaves: blades usually simple, rarely lobed (lobes 3), glabrous or ± hairy, eglandular or sparsely gland-dotted (basal leaf bases ± long-villous-woolly); mid leaves usually simple, rarely lobed (lobes 3, terminal lobes 1.5-3 mm wide). Heads 1-5 per plant, usually borne singly, sometimes in paniculiform arrays. Peduncles (1.5-)6-20(-29) cm, ± hairy, densely tomentose distally near involucres. Involucres hemispheric to broadly campanulate, 13-20 × 23-32 mm. Phyllaries in 2 series, unequal; outer 13-19, basally connate only slightly to ¹/5 their lengths, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate to obovate to oblanceolate, 7-11 mm, apices acuminate to acute; inner 13-18, narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, 8.5-12.6 mm, apices aristate. Ray florets 13-15; corollas yellow, 13-26 × 5.4-9.5 mm. Disc florets 100-250+; corollas 5.7-7.4 mm. Cypselae narrowly obpyramidal, 4.2-4.7 mm; pappi of 9-11(-15) obovate to oblanceolate, often aristate scales 4.7-7.3 mm. 2n = 30. Flowering May-Jun. Roadsides, edges of juniper-pine and pine forests; 1300-2500 m; Ariz., N.Mex.