Stems usually erect, sparsely to densely leafy. Heads in open, paniculiform arrays. Ray florets 8–13(–15). Disc florets 11–32. 2n = 24.

Flowering Apr–Nov. Grass-lands, openings in woodlands, chaparral, and coastal scrub, disturbed sites (e.g., roadsides, fallow fields), often sandy or clayey soils, sometimes serpentine; 0–300 m; Calif.

Subspecies increscens occurs in foothills and valleys of the South Coast Ranges, on the immediate Central Coast and northern South Coast, and on Santa Rosa Island.