Pine Hill ceanothus is a prostrate evergreen shrub of the buckthorn family that generally grows to 9.8 feet in diameter. The smooth gray-brown branches radiate from a central axis and root when they come into contact with the ground. Its leaves are semi-erect with smooth-edged margins. Small whitish flowers tinged with blue appear from March through June. Its fruit is a generally not horned, globe-shaped capsule.

Pine Hill ceanothus occurs exclusively on gabbro soils in chaparral and woodland vegetation communities in the Central Sierra Nevada foothills in California.

Flower, and or, fruit development in this species is negatively affected by canopy shading. Unlike most chaparral shrub species, Pine Hill ceanothus will not resprout from a caudex, which is a woody axis that comprises the stem and root, after a fire, and therefore, depends on nearby plants connected via branch layering for survival or the seedbank for re-establishment. There is reason to believe that seeds can survive at least 80 years in the seedbank. Hot, and or cold, stratification, but not necessarily fire, seems to be required for germination. Because juvenile plants do not begin flowering until 5 to 6 years after fire, populations need a fire-free period of at least 6 years to replenish the seed bank, otherwise populations may be permanently lost.