[2][3] Only two occurrences have been confirmed recently, but the appearance of plants in coming seasons will depend on wildfire activity in the region, because plants spring up from the dormant seed bank after fire.

[2] All the known populations occur on wildlands within the Los Padres National Forest.

[3] The plant grows in chaparral on sandstone soils among chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), Eastwood's manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa), and chaparral whitethorn (Ceanothus leucodermis).

It produces up to ten inflorescences each bearing up to 100 bright yellow flowers up to 2 cm (0.79 in) long each.

The seeds have very hard coats and must be scarified by fire until they reach 80 °C (176 °F) if they are to germinate.