Plants erect to spreading or decumbent, 0.5-3 × 0.1-6 dm, villous. Leaves basal or nearly so; petiole 1-4(-7) cm; blade oblance-olate, 1.5-5 × 0.2-0.7(-1) cm, villous. Inflorescences with secondary branches not sup-pressed except in terminal clusters of involucres, green to reddish; bracts 2, similar to proximal leaf blades only reduced, short-petiolate, becoming linear and aciculate at distal nodes, acerose, 1-5 cm × 2-5(-7) mm, awns absent. Involucres 1, greenish, cylindric, not ventricose, 2.5-4 mm, with white to pinkish, thin scarious margins restricted to basal portion of teeth, not corrugate, thinly pubescent abaxially; teeth spreading, equal, 0.3-0.8(-1) mm; awns uncinate with longer ones 0.7-1.3 mm and anterior one mostly 1-1.3 mm, these alternating with shorter (0.3-0.7 mm) ones. Flowers slightly exserted; perianth bicolored with floral tube white and tepals white to rose, cylindric, 2.5-4 mm, pubescent abaxially; tepals connate 1/ 4 their length, monomorphic, oblanceolate to narrowly oblong, usually truncate to rounded and erose or denticulate apically, occasionally distinctly cuspidate; stamens 9, included; filaments distinct, 2-3.5 mm, glabrous; anthers pink to red or maroon, oblong, 0.6-0.8 mm. Achenes light brown, globose-lenticular, 3.5-4 mm.

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora): wc California.