Plants 10-15 cm. Stems ascending. Leaves oblanceolate, 70-100 × 10-15 mm, margins entire or slightly denticulate. Involucres ca. 20 mm wide. Phyllaries narrowly lanceolate, apices attenuate. Cypsela faces glabrous.

Flowering Jul-Aug. Openings in pine forest, above timberline in alpine meadows; of conservation concern; 2700-3500 m; Wyo.

Variety villosa is recognized mainly by its glabrous cypselae, lanceolate phyllaries, and geographic isolation. It is known primarily from the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming. The affinities of this poorly known taxon are obscure. It has been considered a distinct species or related to Pyrrocoma uniflora or P. integrifolia.