It is native to the Great Basin of the United States.

It grows in sagebrush, woodland, and other Great Basin habitat.

It is a slender annual herb producing a wiry erect stem 15 to 30 centimeters in maximum height.

The nodding inflorescence produces flowers with yellow petals only 2 or 3 millimeters long.

The fruit is a capsule 2 to 3 centimeters long, swollen with seeds, and sometimes coiling.