[2] It is known by the common names Santa Rosa oceanspray,[1] Santa Rosa horkelia and thin-lobed horkelia and is endemic to California, where it is known only from the coastal hills and mountains north of the San Francisco Bay Area.

[1] Potentilla micheneri is a perennial herb producing a low mat of hairy, glandular green foliage around a woody base.

The leaves are cylindrical or somewhat flat, often tapering to a point, and each is made up of several densely packed pairs of hairy leaflets.

At the center of the flower is a cone of stamens tipped with reddish anthers around many pistils.

[3][better source needed] It is threatened by trampling, trail maintenance, and development.