It only grows to be three feet tall, at the most. Other flannelbush plants, such as Mexican flannelbush, grow their branches more upright and are much more like small trees. The reproductive life cycle of Pine Hill flannelbush begins in the late winter months, as tiny flower buds grow on the plant. In the spring the flowers have grown to maturity, and they are pollinated by native bees. By the late-summer drying seed pods, or fruits, open to release their seeds onto the soil.
Seedlings generally sprout in the winter as rains soak the soil.
Only a few seeds may survive this process, since insects use the developing seeds for food. The seeds that do get fully developed and released are also eaten by rodents. In dry years, seeds may not germinate at all, or if the soil dries too soon, the fragile young seedlings may die. Pine Hill flannelbush is found only in chaparral and oak woodland communities of the Sierra Nevada foothills. The largest populations of this endangered plant are in the Pine Hill area of western El Dorado County, and one other population is reputed be found near Grass Valley in Nevada County, but there is some dispute about this later population.