Plants rhizomatous or with woody caudices. Herbage glabrous or sparsely hairy (arachnose). Stems 1, erect, branched proximally and distally, herbaceous, relatively leafy distally. Cauline leaves: proximal not pinnately lobed (lanceolate to linear, margins entire or irregularly dentate, apices obtuse or acute); distal usually ovate to linear, margins denticulate or entire, apices obtuse. Arrays of heads relatively crowded to open. Cypselae 1.8–2.4 mm. 2n = 18.

Flowering Mar–Dec. On shelving rocks, road banks in chaparral or coastal sage; 0–200 m; Calif.

Variety saxatilis frequently grows in coastal areas of Santa Barbara County on steep bluffs overlooking the ocean, and at lower elevations near beaches, and in canyon mouths along the lower south slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains.