Plant less than 7 inches high; stems up to 10 inches long growing erect or leaning; narrow, folded basal and stem leaves. Flowers are about 1/2 inch across; seed pods round.
Basal leaves linear or nearly so, less than 1/8 inch wide, usually not forming a distinct rosette; fruit stalk straight, curved upward or curved like an "S"; capsules hairy with soft hairs, not hanging; yellow flowers.
Habitat
Found on limestone soils dry, sandy, gravelly, or rocky soils, on clay-like hillsides, dry stream beds, open knolls, open pinyon juniper woods, and open stands of sagebrush, Gambel oak or ponderosa pine communities.
Flower Characteristics
4 sepals in 2 pairs, slightly different in shape, yellowish-green, about 1/4 inch long; 4 yellow petals are up to twice as long, spatula-like to oblong shape, relatively broad base and flat at top. Flowers bilaterally rather than radially symmetrical.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Narrow leaves grow from base, rolled up at the edges, blunt tips, 1-1/2 inches long, forming thick, tangled clumps; unbranched, stout, woody stems grow upward or at an angle; leaves and stems covered by short, dense, branched hairs.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Capsules hairy with soft hairs, oval.
Flattened, 2 to 8 seeds per capsule chamber.