Leaf blades glabrous or hairy. Scapes glabrous. Inflorescences: sheath length usually 0.75 times diam. of flower head; outer involucral bracts almost equaling or exceeding flower head. Flowers monomorphic: stigmas papillate, pollen coarsely reticulate; calyx hairy on ribs. 2n = 18.

Flowering mid spring-mid summer. Maritime rocks, cliffs, sandy bluffs, sandy dunes; 0-200 m; B.C.; Calif., Oreg., Wash.

In northern Washington and on Vancouver Island, populations with hairy leaves have been called Armeria maritima var. purpurea (Koch) G. H. M. Lawrence, a dimorphic-flowered taxon from central Europe. The American monomorphic-flowered specimens thought to belong to var. purpurea are not distinct from subsp. californica, except for their hairy leaves. We include hairy-leaved specimens in subsp. californica.