Perennials, 30-90 cm; taprooted, caudices woody, branches ascending, usually basally purplish. Stems ascending-erect, glabrous or sparsely hispid to hispido-pilose, densely glandular. Leaves cauline; blades narrowly oblanceolate, 20-40 × 2-4(-5) mm, generally even-sized, margins entire, faces often sparsely hispid or hispido-pilose, densely glandular. Heads (discoid) (1-)2-15 in loosely corymbiform arrays. Involucres 6-8 × 12-15 mm. Phyllaries in 3-5 series (usually purple apically), glabrous, densely minutely glandular. Ray (pistillate) florets 0. Disc corollas 4.5-6.5 mm (throats slightly indurate, not inflated). Cypselae 2-2.5 mm, 2-nerved, faces glabrous; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 22-38 bristles.

Flowering Jun-Sep. Dry slopes, pine woods, mixed forest, rocks and ledges along rivers; 50-1100 m; Calif.