It is an annual herb producing a slender, bending to curling red or green stem which is sometimes hairy.

The species favors (most common, abundant) moderately disturbed sandy soils, especially those worked by water (alluvial deposits along rivers) and wind (sand blow outs).

[2] In British Columbia, the species primarily occurs on Vancouver Island, immediately along the coastline from Metchosin, north through Victoria, to Sidney.

Its habitat on the coastline of Vancouver Island consists of semi-stable sandy flats and dunes no more than 15 m above sea level.

These represent the northernmost known populations of Camissonia contorta and therefore, the extreme northern range limit of the species.