Perennial subshrub/shrub, woody at base with several erect stems; 1 to 2 feet tall; leafy in the lower portion; white, soft, short, matted hairs throughout; branches zigzag, generally spreading, in layers; sepals smooth, white becoming pink.
Subshrub to shrub; spreading to erect; flower stems branched; leaf stems not jointed, not breaking into sections; flower stems branched, gray; flowers 7 to 100, outer lobes rounded; base of flower (involucre) in forks of branches; flowers without hairs.
Habitat
Western Yavapai County's sandy flats, washes, and slopes, mixed grassland, saltbush, blackbrush, and creosote bush communities, joshua tree woodlands, oak and pinyon-juniper woodland.
Flower Characteristics
Involucres (base supporting flowers) mostly on short, nearly horizontal branches with short nodes, stemless, solitary but close together, nearly cylindric, 1/8 inch long, smooth; sepals white becoming pink; filaments with long, soft, straight hairs.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Woody at base with several erect stems; leaves narrow, basal and 1 per node; 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, with short, fine, gray or white hairs; pointed or slightly rounded at tip; margins rolled under.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Narrow and brown.