Plants killed by fire; burl absent; twigs glabrous or sparsely short-hairy. Leaf blades dull green, not glaucous. Inflorescences: axis 1 mm diam. Ovaries glandular-hairy. Fruits glandular-hairy. Stones often connate into single sphere, sometimes distinct.

Flowering winter-early spring. Chaparral, upper foothill woodlands; 600-1400 m; Calif.

Subspecies elegans is found at higher elevations, usually in rocky volcanic soils, in the interior, southern North Coast Range.