The leaf blades are oblong with deep lobes along the edges, and measure up to 5 centimeters in length.

[6] The plant grows on steep slopes made of clay and broken shale originating from the Green River Formation.

[4] The habitat is pinyon-juniper woodland dominated by Pinus edulis (Colorado pinyon) and Juniperus osteosperma (Utah juniper) and other plants in the vicinity include Berberis repens (creeping barberry), Mentzelia laevicaulis (giant blazingstar), Oenothera caespitosa (evening primrose), Marrubium vulgare (horehound), Cynoglossum officinale (houndstongue), Amelanchier alnifolia (serviceberry), Rhus trilobata (skunkbush), Atriplex canescens (fourwing saltbush), Artemisia tridentata (sagebrush), Chrysothamnus nauseosus (rabbitbrush), Cercocarpus montanus (mountain mahogany), and Rosa woodsii (Woods' rose).

[4] One occurrence is next to railroad tracks, and the construction and maintenance of the rails has disturbed the habitat.

[1] Highway 6 runs directly through another occurrence, and road maintenance may disturb the plants as well as the habitat that supports their potential pollinators.

Seeds grown in cultivation will be used to establish thirteen populations on federal land in Uinta National Forest, where they can be protected.