Kumlienia hystricula is a small perennial herb growing from fleshy roots and a thick caudex.
From the patch emerge several inflorescences on erect to drooping peduncles up to about 20 centimeters tall.
The actual petals are much smaller, shiny yellow-green structures curving around the center of the bloom.
The fruits are bristly, lance-shaped bodies a few millimeters long and clustered together.
Kumlienia hystricula is endemic to the Sierra Nevada in California, where it grows in wet areas in the coniferous forests of the range.