This is a perennial herb with wiry, sometimes woody, stems growing from a taproot and reaching about 60 centimeters in maximum length.

The plant may grow alongside other rare scrub vegetation, such as the wedge-leaved button snakeroot (Eryngium cuneifolium).

These gaps in the woody vegetation of the scrub are maintained by periodic wildfires; one of the main threats to its existence is fire suppression.

In the absence of a normal fire regime, the taller and woody vegetation grows up and shades out the plants of the understory.

[3] Land management practices that could benefit the plant include less suppression of fire, avoiding fire during drought times, formation of gaps in the scrub through other means, and avoiding disturbance of the soil crust, which may have a protective effect on the seedlings.