Plants 0.2-1.5 × 0.2-1 cm. Leaf blades (1-)2-5 × (0.4-)0.5-1 cm. Involucres 2.5-4 mm. Pedicels to 1 mm (bisexual) or less than 0.3 mm (pistillate). Flowers: perianth of distal flower rose to pink, 1-1.5 mm; perianth of proximal flower white, 2-2.5 mm; filaments 2-3 mm; anthers 0.2-0.3 mm. Achenes 2-2.5 mm. 2n = 38, 40.

Flowering May-Jul. Sandy flats and slopes, chaparral communities, pine-oak woodlands; 700-1500 m; Calif.

Systenotheca vortriedei is known only from the Santa Lucia Mountains.