Low perennial; stems 3-8 cm tall, nearly hairless; leaves to 6 cm long, sparsely hairy mostly along the margins; basal leaves broader above the middle; stem leaves smaller than the basal and often linear; flower heads solitary on each stem; involucral bracts smooth and often purplish at the tip; ray flowers 25-35, purplish or bluish; achenes 2-nerved, somewhat hairy; pappus of sordid capillary bristles. Flowers in August and early September.