Plants 2-3(-5) dm. Aerial flowering stems not fistulose, 0.5-1.5 dm, glabrous. Leaves basal; blade 1-2 × 0.3-0.8(-1) cm, tomentose abaxially, floccose or glabrous adaxially, margins plane. Inflorescences cymose, 5-15 × 5-15(-20) cm; branches glabrous. Involucres 1(-2) per cluster, 2.5-3.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent. Flowers 2-3 mm; perianth white, glabrous. 2n = 40.

Flowering Jun-Sep. Granitic flats and slopes, manzanita, buckbrush, and sagebrush communities, scrub oak and conifer woodlands; (1100-)1500-3000(-3200) m; Calif., Nev.

Variety deductum is the common mid-elevation tetraploid expression of the species, found primarily in the Sierra Nevada, including some desert ranges just to the east. It is not always readily distinguishable from var. nudum. At higher elevations, var. deductum is replaced by var. scapigerum.