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.