Plant terrestial, flowering 19-41.5 cm high.
Leaves 8-17 in number, rigid, succulent, slightly recurved, forming an asymmetric rosette, caused by the second leaves, 4.4-7 x 7.2-8.7 cm;
sheaths suborbicular, ca. 2 x 4 cm, white with the upper abaxial half brown, white lepidote on the upper third of both surfaces, inconspicuously spinose distally;
blades nanowly triangular, 3-6.7 x 0.6-1.4 cm, distinctly canaliculate, green abaxially, vinaceous adaxially, white lepidote on both surfaces, slightly or not obscuring the leaf-color, apex acuminate, pungent, margins spinose except for the apical third, spines the basal ones antrorse to patent in the median ones, brown, 0.6-1.4 x 0.1 mm, 4-10 mm apart.
Inflorescence simple, ercct, (21.4-)28-39.6 cm long; rachis orange, 1.1-1.4 mm in diameter, white tomentose;
Fertile part of the inflorescence 4.7-9.5 cm;
peduncle erect, terete, (15-) 23.3-31.7 cm long, 1-1.8 mm in diameter, green, glabrous, internodes (l7-)23-35.1(-40.8) mm long;
peduncle bracts shorter than the internodes, lower ones 1.3-3.4 x 0.2-0.4 cm, upper ones 4.6-8 x 1.2-3.4 mm, ovate to oblong, acuminate, ending in a spine, stramineous, carinate, the lower ones white lanate abaxially, the upper ones glabrous, margins entire.
Floral bracts equaling or slightly exceeding the pedicels, 3.4-8 x 2.6-5.3 mm, orange, broadly ovate, patent, convex, ecarinate, acuminate, ending in a spine, white lanate abaxially, margins with fimbriate trichomes along the basal half.
Flowers 5-13 in number, antrorse, 1.2-1.5 cm long;
pedicels evident, orange, (3.2-)4.2-6.8 mm long, sparsely white lanate;
sepals symmetric, reaching the midpoint of the petals, orange, ovate to ellipitc, 4.7-8.3 x 3.1-5.1 mm, obtuse or with an inconspicuous apiculus, sparsely white lanate abaxially, margins with fimbriate trichomes;
petals symmetric, orange, rhombic, 7.5-7.7 x 4.2-5.2 cm, obtuse, margins entire, glabrous;
corolla tubular.
Stamens included; filaments pale yellow, linear, 4.8-5.3 mm long, connate at the base for l.4-l .5 mm to form a common tube with the petals, free above it;
anthers linear, 1.5-l.7 mm long, acute, recurved at the apex, yellow, dorsifixed near the base.
Ovary superior part oblong, yellow to pale orange, 3.8 mm long;
style yellow, 1.3 mm long;
stigma 0.5-0.9 mm long, yellow.
Capsules ovoid, dark brown, 8.6 x 6.3 mm, suberect to erect.

Additional specimen examined:-BRAZIL, Minas Gerais: Diamantina Km 165, estr. para Conselheiro Mata, MG-220, 25 February 1987, Zappi et al.(SPF 46903); 15 March 1999, Rapini 746 & Kawasalri(SPF); estr. Diamantina-Conselheiro Mata 38 Km do trevo de saida de Diamantina 3l January 2000, Forzza & Mello-Silva 1510 (BHCB; SP; SPF); estr. para Conselheiro Mata, lado esquerdo,1241 m elev., l8degl8'24"S, 43deg53'59-W, 25 May 2011, Guarconi 1671 & Paixao (VIC). Gouveia, estr. do lado esquerdo da BR-259 para Gouveia, 5 August 2010, Guarconi I478 et al.
(MACO). Presidente Kubitschek, estr. Datas to Serro, KM 438, 18deg33'00"S, 33deg33'00"W, 11 March 1998, Forzza et al. 679 (RB).

Distribution and habitat:- Dyckia nana is endemic to the Diamantina Plateau, occurring between 1000 and 1240 m elevation. The species habit can be terrestrial or saxicolous, and individuals usually occur on soils with quartz rubbles.

Phenology:- Flowering from January to May.

Conservation Status:- The species is critically endangered (CR), as it is known from only three localities, with a total estimated population of less than 250 individuals. These areas are severely affected by annual fires. The species does not occur in Conservation Units.

Comments:- Dyckia nana is mainly characterized by small and asymmetric rosettes with few slightly recurved leaves. Another character that can aid recognition is the suberect flowers at anthesis.
The species can be distinguished from D. oligantha by having fewer leaves (9-17 vs. 21-41), sheath white-lepidote on the upper third (vs. glabrous), peduncle bracts glabrous (vs. white lepidote);
flowers suberect (vs. slightly reflexed), pedicels 4.2-6.8 mm (vs. 2-4 mm), sepals obtuse (vs. acute), narrower petals (4.2-5.2 mm vs. 5.9-9.2 mm), and longer style (1.3 mm vs. 0.8 mm).

Dyckia nana had been synonymized with D. macedoi by Forzza et al. cont.upd. without additional comment.

Plant terrestrial in stony soil, flowering 19-29 cm high.
Leaves 8 to 10, densely arranged, coriaceous;
Sheaths broader than the blades, ca. 2.5 x 3 cm, dark castaneous and glabrous toward the base abaxially, pale colored adaxially, densely white lepidote near the apex on both sides, the older ones forming a globose base, 2.5-3 x 2.5-3.5 cm;
Blades narrowly triangular, distinctly canaliculate, suberect to nearly erect and slightly unilaterally secund, 3-5 x 1.2-l.4 cm, green but the color obscured by the dense layer of coarse white trichomes on both sides, opaque, distinctly nerved, apex acuminate and terminating in a pungent spine, margins laxly spinulose, spines 0.5-1 mm long, ca. 0.3 mm wide at base, 4-10 mm apart, subtriangular-acicular, spreading to slightly antrorse, castaneous near the apex, glabrous.
Peduncle lateral, erect, 15-20 x 0.15-0.2 cm in diameter, glabrous, smooth, green;
peduncle bracts erect, stramineous, nerved, bearing a central protruded nerve and appearing carinate toward the apex, sparsely white-lepidote, 5-11 x 3-3.5 mm, with a broadly subtriangular base and a long lanceolate-acuminate-caudate blade, margins microscopically denticulate to nearly entire, distinctly shorter than the internodes.
Inflorescence erect, 2.5-5 cm long, glabrous, subdensely to laxly flowered, rachis nearly straight, terete, smooth, greenish to orange-yellow, glabrous, l-1.5 mm in diameter;
floral bracts broadly ovate-subtriangular, acuminate-caudate, bearing a central protruded nerve and appearing carinate toward the apex, finely nerved, stramineous toward the apex, 4-4.5 x 3.5-4 mm, subspreading to suberect, equaling to slightly exceeding the pedicels, margins bearing fimbriate trichomes, remotely and irregularly denticulate to entire.
Flowers 4 to 6, 12-13 mm long with extended petals, spreading and unilaterally secund before anthesis and afterwards, subdensely to laxly arranged, 6-15 mm apart, odorless,
pedicels conspicuous, slender, terete, glabrous, yellow-orange, 3.5-5 x 2-2.5 mm, curved;
sepals symmetric, broadly ovate, convex, apex obtuse and remotely and irregularly apiculate, ecarinate,4-5.5 x 3.5-4 mm, orange, glabrous except for the retrorsely curved, long fimbriate trichomes along the margins;
Petals symmetric, broadly obcordate or nearly so from a distinctly narrowed base, apex broadly emarginate, connate at base for ca. 1.5 mm in a common tube with the filaments, ca.7.5 x 6.5-7 mm, ecarinate, orange, erect except for the slightly recurved apex at anthesis and forming a subtubular to slightly campanulate corolla 4-5 mm in diameter.
Stamens distinctly shorter than the petals and not exposed;
filaments complanate, yellow, connate at base for ca. 1.5 mm in a common tube with the filaments, ca. 1.5 mm wide at base;
anthers oblong-ovate, ca. 2.5 mm long, base sagittate, apex acute, yellow on both sides, fixed near the base, straight or nearly so;
pistil ca. 4.7 mm long;
stigma conduplicate-spiral, blades shortly crenulate-lacerate, yellow;
style ca. 1mm long, distinct, yellow;
ovary suboblong-ovate, ca. 2.5 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter, yellow.
Capsules unknown.

Dyckia nana is one of the smaller species the genus, yet proportionally robust. It is closely related to D. consimilis, differing by the broader leaf blades (1.2-1.4 cm vs. ca. 0.7 cm wide), which is densely white lepidote on both sides (vs. glabrous adaxially), bearing smaller marginal spines (0.5-1 mm vs. ca. 3 mm long), longer flowers (12-13 mm vs. ca. 8 mm long), and by the filaments free above the short common tube with the petals (vs. highly connate above the common tube with the petals).
On the other hand, D. nana can be related to D. macedoi. The main differences of the new species are: leaves suberect to nearly erect at anthesis (vs. suberect-recurved at anthesis), leafblades shorter (3-5 cm vs. 6-8 cm long) and densely white lepidote on both sides (vs. adaxially glabrescent), distinctly nerved (vs. longitudinal nerves inconspicuous), unilaterally secund flowers at anthesis (vs. flowers not secund at anthesis), and by the distinct style separating the ovary from the stigma ca. 1mm long, (vs. stigma subsessile).
Dyckia nana grows terrestrially on white quartzite soil, amidst the grass-like vegetation of the Campos Rupestres, at elevation ca. 1,200 m. The individuals are sparsely and irregularly distributed in the collected site, growing under direct sunlight, where isolated specimens of Vriesea diamantinensis Leme were observed.

The name of Dyckia nana recalls the uncommon miniature size of its vegetative parts.