It is endemic to the California Central Valley, where it grows in vernal pools and alkali flats.

Lasthenia chrysantha is an annual herb approaching a maximum height near 28 centimeters.

The stem may be branched or not and it bears mostly hairless, linear leaves up to 7 or 8 centimeters long.

The fruit is a black oval-shaped achene a few millimeters long with a fringe of tiny dull hairs around the edge.

Like other goldfields, populations of this species bloom in the spring to produce a carpet of yellow in its habitat.