White-rayed wyethia looks like a white-flowered balsamroot. Its leaves are both basal and cauline, with the basal ones elliptic or elliptic-ovate in shape and entire margins. The basal leaves ar about 9 - 35 cm in length and about 3 - 12 cm. The reduced stem leaves are often about 6 - 12 cm long and about 1.5 - 4 cm wide. The stems are stout but lax, and the plant often sprawls across the ground. The stems are about 20 to 80 cm long.

The flower heads are mostly single with a spherical involucre. The bracts are nearly linear and acutely tipped (see photo) with numerous hairs on their margins. The rays are white or pale cream in color, and often dry to a yellowish color so they could be misidentified for Wyethia amplexicaulis from a distance. There are most commonly about 13 rays, but as many as 21 may be found on a head. Individual rays range from 2.5 - 4.5 cm in length.

Wyethia helianthoides is similar in appearance to Wyethia amplexicaulis, which has yellow-rayed flowers. Both seem to hybridize where they overlap.

White-rayed wyethia is found from moist and wet meadows at moderate elevations in the mountains. Its bloomtime is approximately May and June in Oregon.

White-rayed Wyethia is found from central and northeastern Oregon eastward to northern Nevada, Yellowstone Park, and southwestern Montana.