This is a hairy annual or short-lived perennial herb spreading from a basal rosette, with stems reaching up to 80 centimeters long.

The slender stems are prostrate or decumbent to relatively ascending, reaching 50 to 80 cm (20 to 31 in) in length, with older epidermis peeling.

[citation needed] The basal leaves arise on petioles up to 4 cm (1.6 in) from a rosette, and are shaped narrowly elliptic.

The cauline leaves tend to be (sub)sessile, and are generally shaped lanceolate, with the margins being minutely dentate (toothed) to roughly entire (smooth).

The name bistorta means "twice-twisted," referring to the fact that the fruit does a double turn.

[2][3] In Baja California, this species is found from the border to inland to Tecate south to the Colonet area.

[2] In some locations in San Diego County, it occurs with deceptively similar looking (when young) rare plants such as Chorizanthe orcuttiana and Mucronea californica.