Twigs glabrous or sparsely short-hairy near inflorescence. Leaf blades: margins entire, surfaces smooth, glabrous. Ovaries smooth, glabrous, not viscid. Fruits smooth, glabrous, not viscid. 2n = 26. Flowering winter-early spring. Chaparral, open forests; 0-1400 m; Calif., Oreg. Subspecies viscida occurs in the western Sierra Nevada and North Coast Ranges of California, northward to southern Oregon.