Perennial groundcover and bushy, 5 to 20 centimeters in height, locally forming large colonies in rocky grasslands, screes, and grassy places of the montane and subalpine levels, from 0 to 2400 meters altitude. It is a classic rock garden plant, perennial groundcover of screes and rocky grasslands of the montane and subalpine levels of the Mediterranean rim and the southern Alps.
The whole plant — stems and leaves — is covered with a characteristic downy pubescence, giving it a silky and grayish appearance that pleasantly contrasts with the color of the flowers. These are gathered in dense capitula of 25 to 30 millimeters, of a purplish to carmine pink significantly more intense than the typical form, of which they constitute the main ornamental attraction.
Blooming from June to July.