Description. Plants loose to compact mats, 1–6 dm wide; aerial flowering stems mostly erect, (0.5) 1–2 (3) dm tall; leaf blades linear-oblanceolate to oblong or narrowly elliptic, 2–7 (9) cm long, 0.3–0.8 (1) cm wide, densely tomentose abaxially, tomentose to floccose or glabrous and greenish adaxially; inflorescences subcapitate to umbellate, the branches 0.2–1 cm long; involucres usually turbinate, 4–9 mm long; flowers (4) 5–7 mm long, including a 1–1.5 mm long stipelike base, the perianth cream or pale to bright yellow. 2n = 76, 80.

Flowering Jun-Sep. Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes in mixed grassland and sagebrush communities, and in montane to subalpine conifer woodlands; (700) 1200–2800 (3200) m; mainly west of the Continental Divide in southern Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, south in the United States into eastern Washington (Asotin, Columbia and Okanogan cos.), northern Idaho (Adams, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Custer, Clearwater, Elmore, Fremont, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Shoshone, Valley and Washington cos.), and western Montana (Beaverhead, Broadwater, Cascade, Clark, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Missoula, Park, Pondera, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Wibaux and Wheatland cos.) to Washington (Asotin, Columbia and Okanogan cos.), northeastern Oregon (Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa cos.), and northwestern Wyoming (Park and Teton cos.).