It is endemic to California, where it is known from the central and south coasts and coastal mountain ranges.

It grows in several types of local habitat, including chaparral, grassland and vernal pools, and slopes of serpentine soils.

It is a hairy annual herb producing a slender stem up to about 20 centimeters tall.

The lower leaves are divided into needlelike lobes, the upper toothed and coated in white hairs.

The inflorescence is a head of flowers lined with hairy, glandular bracts.