It is native to California, Arizona, and Baja California, in the Sonoran Desert and its Colorado Desert, and in the sky islands of the Mojave Desert.

Ayenia compacta is a small shrub producing many erect, branching stems up to 40 centimeters tall from a taproot.

The sparse leaves are oval in shape and edged in dull teeth.

Each petal has a threadlike claw.

The capsule fruit is a purple-tinted yellow sphere about half a centimeter wide.