Plants 15-50 cm. Stems erect to spreading, green when young, becoming tan, branched proximally, often with scattered, crinkled hairs and short- stipitate-glandular hairs. Leaves mostly erect or ascending; blades oblanceolate to narrowly spatulate, 20-40 × 2-3(-5) mm, midnerves evident, apices acute to acuminate, faces short-stipitate-glandular, sometimes gland-dotted (sessile), resinous; axillary fascicles of 1-7 reduced leaves often proximally present, distally absent. Heads usually in paniculiform or cymiform arrays, sometimes borne singly. Peduncles 1-15 mm (bracts 0-3, usually resembling phyllaries). Involucres narrowly campanulate, 12-15 × 4.5-5.5 mm. Phyllaries 18-24 in (3-)4 series, tan, ovate or lanceolate to elliptic, 4-11 × 0.6-1.2 mm, subequal, mostly chartaceous, midnerves raised, evident, apices acute to cuspidate, herbaceous-tipped, abaxial faces resinous. Ray florets 0. Disc florets 10-16; corollas 9.1-11.5 mm. Cypselae tan to reddish, ellipsoid, 6-10 mm, glabrate or apically sparsely hairy; pappi off-white to brown, sometimes reddish, 7-9 mm. 2n = 18.

Flowering late summer-fall. Sheltered, rocky to gravelly slopes in pine forests; of conservation concern; 2500-3500 m; Nev.