Plants (30-)40-60+; herbage sometimes sparsely hairy. Stems single or loosely clustered (relatively stiff-erect). Leaves mostly proximal and mid cauline (basal smaller, usually withering before flowering). Phyllaries frequently black or purplish toward tips, sometimes with black hairs on abaxial faces.

Flowering mid-late summer. Damp or drying, loose, rocky sites in upper conifer associations and near timberline; 3100-4100 m; Colo., N.Mex.