Holocarpha virgata is a California endemic restricted to altitudes less than 800 meters. Bioregional distribution includes the Inner North Coast Ranges, north and central Sierra Nevada Foothills, California Central Valley, eastern Central Western California and disjunctively along the central and southern South Coast. Preferred habitats are grasslands.

Also known by the common name Yellowflower tarweed annual herb grows to a height of 20 to 120 centimeters, with branches generally not rising higher than the main stem. Branches are soft-hairy and glandular below, canescent or short-bristly above. The characteristic tarweed resinous Leaves have lower leaf occurrences ranging from six to 15 cm in length and are linear and bristly. Upper leaves are crowded. The inflorescence is spike- or raceme-like, withnorm heads ally sessile. The more or less obconic involucres are five to six mm. Ray flowers have ligules about four to six mm. Disk flowers 9–25; corollas 3.5–4.5 mm; anthers black