Plants annual, caulescent, erect, 5-30 cm, sparsely pubescent. Leaves basal and cauline; blade with ultimate lobes usually obtuse. Inflorescences cymose or 1-flowered; buds nodding. Flowers: receptacle turbinate, less than 1.5 mm broad, cup without spreading free rim; calyx acute, pubescent; petals yellow, sometimes with orange spot at base, 10-20 mm. Capsules 3-7 cm. Seeds brown, spheric to ellipsoid, 1-1.3 mm, reticulate. 2 n = 12.

Flowering spring (Mar-May). Grassy areas in woodland, chaparral; 500-1500 m; Calif.