Plants 50-200 cm. Stems erect to spreading, green when young, often black-banded or splotched (from fungal infections), fastigiately branched, glabrous, gland-dotted, resinous. Leaves mostly ascending; blades filiform (adaxially sulcate), 10-35 × 0.5-1.5 mm, midnerves obscure, apices apiculate, faces glabrous, gland-dotted (in circular, deep pits), resinous; axillary fascicles usually absent. Heads in paniculiform arrays (5-50 mm wide). Peduncles 2-12 mm (bracts 0-10, leaflike). Involucres subcylindric, 5.5-9 × 3.5-7 mm. Phyllaries 13-20 in 3-5 series, tan, lanceolate to elliptic, 1-5 × 0.5-1.7 mm, unequal, mostly chartaceous, membranous, midnerves not or slightly raised, faint on distal ¹ / 2 , (margins entire, sometimes ciliate distally) apices erect, acute to rounded, apiculate, abaxial faces glabrous, ± resinous. Ray florets 0. Disc florets 5-8; corollas 5-7 mm. Cypselae tan to brown, narrowly elliptic to oblanceoloid, 3.5-4.5 mm (ribs ca. 5), sericeous; pappi off-white to brown, 5.5-6.5 mm. 2n = 18.

Flowering late summer-fall. Stony open deserts and washes; 400-1600 m; Ariz., Calif., Nev., Utah.