[1] The species is a tough perennial plant which grows in flat, woody mats in sand and gravel substrates.

It has small, fuzzy gray leaves (under 2.5 centimetres (1 in) long)[1] which are scoop-shaped due to their rolled edges.

In early summer,[1] short stalks emerge from the mat with inflorescences of greenish-yellow and whitish rounded clusters of flowers.

[2] Some of the flowers are bisexual and up to 1 cm wide each, and some are only staminate and much smaller.

[citation needed] It is a common perennial plant native to the western United States from California to Montana, especially the Great Basin.