Perennials, 10-25 cm (roots swollen, 6-10 cm). Stems ± subterranean (except peduncles). Leaves basal; petioles 20-35 mm; blades green, broadly ovate, 30-40 mm, faces glabrous or substrigose (sometimes rugose). Heads borne singly (nodding in fruit). Peduncles hairy. Involucres 12-22 mm. Phyllaries lanceolate. Ray florets 0. Disc corollas yellow, 6-8 mm. Cypselae 7-12 mm; pappi usually 0, rarely of 2 bristlelike awns. 2n = 36.

Flowering Apr. Flat areas with heavy soils; 1300-1900 m; Colo., Utah.

Encelia nutans shares the apically notched and glabrous-faced cypselae of the genus, but its geophyte habit, especially the ephemeral nature of its aboveground parts, is unique in either Encelia or Enceliopsis.