Plants herbs, matted or slightly spreading, scapose, 0.5–2 dm tall, 0.5–2.5 dm across; stems spreading, with persistent leaf bases, up to 1⁄4 height of plant, the caudex stems matted or slightly spreading, the aerial flowering stems erect, slender, solid, not fistulose, (0.4) 0.5–1.5 (2) dm long, tomentose; leaves sheathing up flowering stem (1.5) 2–4 cm, 1 per node, fasciculate in terminal tufts on stemless caudex branches, the petioles (0.3) 0.5–1.5 (1.8) cm long, tomentose, the blades elliptic, (0.5) 0.8–2 (2.3) cm long, (0.3) 0.5–1.2 (1.8) cm wide, densely grayish-tomentose on both surfaces, the margins plane; inflorescences capitate, 1–1.5 cm wide, the branches absent, the bracts 3–8, elongate-triangular to triangular, scalelike, 1–3 mm long, tomentose; peduncles absent; involucres 5–10 per cluster, turbinate, (2.5) 3–4.5 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, rigid, tomentose, the teeth 5–7, erect, 0.6–1 mm long; flowers (1.5) 2.5–3 mm long, the perianth creamy white, glabrous, the hypanthium 1⁄3–1⁄2 length of perianth, the tepals monomorphic, oblong-ovate, the stamens exserted, 3–3.5 mm long, the filaments sparsely pilose proximally; achenes light brown, 2–2.5 mm long, glabrous.

Flowering Jun-Sep. White, chalky slopes, saltbush communities; 1300–1400 m; Churchill Narrows area south of Fort Churchill State Park in Lyon Co., Nevada.

All the pictures of Eriogonum diatomaceum were taken in the Churchill Narrows in Nevada, on June 6 th 2014.