Shrubs, 10–250 cm, broomlike. Flowering stems pannose with glabrescent striae. Leaf blades (flowering stems) filiform, 10–40 (× ca. 1) mm. Peduncles 0–5+ mm. Involucres turbinate to cylindric, 6–8 mm. Phyllaries 8–13, lanceolate to ovate, tomentose, glabrescent. Florets 4–6; corollas 7.5–10 mm. Cypselae 5–6.5 mm, 5-nerved, densely pilose; pappi 7–11 mm. 2n = 60.

Flowering late summer. Sandy, gravelly soils, desert washes, fans; 1400–2500 m; Calif., Nev., Utah.