Stems usually decumbent. Leaves: blade narrowly elliptic, margins coarsely serrate. 2n = 14.

Flowering May–Jun. Marine sand deposits in openings in chaparral and oak woodlands; 100–500 m; Calif.

Subspecies obispoensis is known from the coastal and somewhat inland areas of central California from southern Monterey County to northwestern Santa Barbara County; the subspecies intergrades with subsp. campestris and sometimes occurs sympatrically with C. contorta and C. strigulosa, forming usually sterile hybrids. Plants of subsp. obispoensis in the western part of its range have narrower leaves with smaller serrations on the margin and are less pubescent than those in the eastern part of the range.