Involucres densely white-pubescent.

Flowering Apr-Jun. Sandy to gravelly places in saltbush communities, pinyon-juniper and pine-oak woodlands; (60-)400-1300 m; Calif.

Variety leucotheca is infrequent and localized in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County and on the eastern slopes of the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County. The dense tomentum on the involucres completely obscures the reddish hue of the involucral surface.