Shrubs to 100(-200) cm. Leaf blades elliptic to ovate, 10-25(-40+) × 4-15(-20) mm (margins sometimes undulate). Ray florets 0. Disc florets 10-25(-40); corollas 3-4 mm. Cypselae 4-6.5 mm; pappi 2.5-3.5 mm. 2n = 36. Flowering mostly Sep-Nov. Limestone or alkaline or clay soils, gravelly sites, desert scrub; 800-2000+ m; Ariz., N.Mex., Tex.; Mexico. Plants of Flourensia cernua usually have a tarry odor and are often locally co-dominant with Larrea tridentata throughout much of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Plant: Shrub to 1.5 m; stems much-branched; herbage resinous Leaves: leaves alternate, small, ovate to oval, entire Flowers: flowers yellow; achene cuneate, laterally compressed but somewhat thickened, villous; pappus of two unequal awns.