It produces clumps of dark reddish purple stems up to about a meter tall with a few bright green, lobed leaves.

The single occurrence in Utah is also threatened by off-road vehicle use and dumping.

[1] Associated species include creosote bush, blackbrush, saltbush, yucca, ragweed, ephedra, rabbitbrush, prairie-clover, James' galleta, cheesebush, Anderson's desert thorn, prickly pear, indigo bush, and cliffrose.

[5] Since 2011, Red Butte Garden's Conservation Department in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been conducting germination, propagation, and transplant studies at a site in Arizona, just South of St. George, UT.

The studies are meant to assess the feasibility of reintroducing S. gierischii to reclaimed gypsum mine tailings.