Plants erect, 0.5-4 dm. Stems slender, 3-8 cm. Leaf blades 1-3.5 cm. Inflorescences: bracts 2(-3), subulate, awns 0.5-1.5 mm. Peduncles 0.5-2(-3.5) cm. In-volucres: awns 7-10, ivory-colored, (3-)4-5 mm.

Flowering Jun-Sep. Sandy flats and slopes, montane conifer forests; 2100-2500 m; Calif.

Variety cienegensis is known only from the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County.