It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in moist areas in otherwise dry habitat, such as desert springs.

It is most common in the Mojave Desert, found also in the southern Great Basin and other nearby regions of California, Nevada, western Arizona, and southwestern Utah.

The densely woolly stem branches and spreads near the top.

The leaves are toothed to deeply lobed, woolly, spiny, and up to 60 centimeters (24 inches) long near the base of the plant.

The inflorescence is a spreading array of clusters of flower heads, each generally less than 3 centimeters long and wide.