Main stems creeping and rooting, up to 3 dm. or more long, branches procumbent to ascending, up to 15 cm. long, glab. or nearly so. Lvs up to 5 cm. or more long, narrow in outline, c. 1 cm. wide, 9-15-foliolate, glab., glaucescent on both surfaces; stipules scarious, c. 4 mm. long, entire; deeply obtusely dentate, obovate-cuneate, terminal lflt with petiolule up to 5 mm. long. Scape up to 25 cm. long, with one to several pairs of bracts, glab. or nearly so, purple. Bracts occ. with axillary cupules. Heads up to 2 cm. diam., purplish, bractlets linear, ciliate. Cupules c. 5 mm. long, glab., golden brown, saccate, spines 4, barbed, purplish, us. with several minute spinelets. Sepals 4, greenish, suffused with purple, especially marginally, sparingly hairy to glab. Stamens 2-4, anthers purple. Stigma plumose. Achenes up to 4 mm. long, fusiform.

2n = 126

2n = 84?

2n = 126

Stoloniferous herb; decumbent stems 1-1.7 mm diam., < 30 cm long; erect stems < 5 cm long. Lvs 0.9-13 cm long, the length c. 6× width; stipules entire or 3-(5)-fid, with glandular hairs on margin of sheath; leaflets 11-15, obovate or deltoid, 3-10 × 2.5-8 mm, with 5-8, obtuse, deeply incised teeth, glaucous on both surfaces, glabrous or sparsely hairy on veins and margin of lower surface. Scape 5-11 cm long at flowering, 9-30 cm long at fruiting, red, glabrous; capitulum 6-9 mm diam. at flowering, < 15 mm diam. (including spines) at fruiting; florets c. 80-100; sepals 4; stamens 2; anthers dark red; style 1, dark red; achene 1. Fr. obconic, c. 3 × 1.5-2 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy, with dilated ribs; spines 4, red, 2-4 mm long, barbed, with minute spines occasionally present between main ones.