It is endemic to California, where it grows in the North and Central Coast Ranges in chaparral habitat on serpentine soils.

This is an annual herb producing a thin, erect stem up to 20 centimeters tall.

The leathery leaves are linear in shape, toothed along the edges, and less than a centimeter long.

The stem and foliage are sometimes reddish in color and may have stiff hairs.

The small, cylindrical flower is pale blue to white and less than 4 millimeters long.