It is found on sheltered rocky slopes in chaparral, conifer forest, and other habitat types.

Acmispon argophyllus is a perennial herb growing prostrate to erect, the base of its stem woody and tough and upper parts coat in silky silvery hairs.

[3] The leaves are each made up of pairs of hairy oval leaflike leaflets around a centimeter long.

The inflorescence is a cluster of many tubular yellow flowers each about a centimeter long, encased at the base in a calyx of silky-hairy sepals.

The fruit is legume pod generally containing a single seed.