Primary root short-lived. Stem short and broadly napiform, us. simple, with cop. long hairs. Rosette us. flat, 1-10 cm. diam.; lvs of firm texture, punctate, often black-blotched; lamina linear to broad-lanceolate, us. gradually (more abruptly in some coastal plants) narrowed into flat petiole; tip obtuse, margin entire in seedling, us. but not always becoming toothed to strongly pinnate-dentate in flowering stage; lf-hairs few or ∞, best developed on raised transverse ridges opp. bases of teeth, undersurface glab. Infls mostly hidden by long stem-hairs, each spike reduced to a single floret; scape extremely short at flowering, up to 2.5 cm. long at fruiting, almost glab. except for tuft of hairs immediately below bract. Bract and sepals < 1 mm. long, always much < basal portion of capsule, membr. and without keel, glab. Corolla-tube long (up to 2.5 mm.), lobes often only 3, erect, narrow, us. < 1·5 mm. long; stamens 3 or 4 (in same plant); anthers to 1 mm. long; ovules ∞; capsule to 3 mm. long, seeds 10-50, irregularly angular.

2n = 48

n = 24

2n = 48

Primary root short-lived; adventitious roots present. Stem very short, usually simple, with dense, long, hairy tuft. Lvs radical, rosulate, often black-blotched; petiole flattened, often indistinct and lvs ± sessile. Lamina 1-4.5-(5) × 0.1-1.5 cm, linear-subulate to broad-lanceolate, narrow- to broad-elliptic, or narrow-ovate, subcoriaceous; main veins 1-(3); hairs few to numerous, best-developed on raised transverse ridges opposite teeth bases, 0 on undersurface; margins usually dentate or pinnately divided, occasionally entire; apex obtuse; base attenuate, less so in some coastal plants. Fl. 1; scape mostly hidden by long stem hairs, extremely short at flowering, to 2.5 cm long at fruiting, almost glabrous except for tuft of hairs immediately below bract. Bract and sepals < 1 mm long, ± elliptic, always much < basal portion of capsule, membranous and without keel, glabrous. Corolla tube to 2.5 mm long; lobes often only 3, 1.2-1.7 × 0.4-0.7 mm, narrow. Stamens 3-4 (in same plant). Capsule 1.5-3 mm long, ± broad-ellipsoid. Seeds 10-50, 0.5-1 mm long, irregular and ± elongated.