Subshrubs, rounded, 1-2 dm. Leaf blades tomentose abaxially, subglabrous adaxially. Involucres 3-5 mm wide; teeth lobelike, reflexed, 2-3 mm. Flowers usually 3-6 mm.

Flowering Jul-Aug. Granitic slopes and outcrops, manzanita communities, montane conifer woodlands; 2500-2900 m; Calif.

Variety avium is restricted to a few scattered populations on the western slope of the southern Sierra Nevada in Madera and Fresno counties.