Plants 2–3 (5) dm tall; aerial flowering stems not fistulose, 0.5–1.5 dm long, glabrous; leaves basal, the blades 1–2 cm long, 0.3–0.8 (1) cm wide, tomentose abaxially, floccose or glabrous adaxially, the margins plane; inflorescences cymose, 5–15 cm long, 5–15 (20) cm wide, the branches glabrous; involucres 1 (2) per cluster, 2.5–3.5 mm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; flowers 2–3 mm long, the perianth white, glabrous. 2n = 40.

Flowering Jun-Sep. Granitic flats and slopes, manzanita, buckbrush, and sagebrush communities, scrub oak and conifer woodlands; (1100) 1500–3000 (3200) m; Sierra Nevada in Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Tulare and Tuolumne cos. of California eastward onto the scattered desert ranges in Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Mineral and Washoe cos. of west-central Nevada.