The inflorescence is a leafy spike with heads sessile or in small clusters in the axils of conspicuous leaves or bracts. The head is campanulate with many canescent bracts.
Soil textures vary from loams to fine clay loams.
One of the factors affecting this distribution may be winter light intensity and quality. Stiff sagebrush is deciduous and can tolerate low light intensities during winter months to a greater extent than low sagebrush. Another factor affecting the distribution of the two species may involve bedrock fracturing.