Chorizanthe orcuttiana is a rare small annual plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae.

The plant is very sensitive to temperature and precipitation, and under drought or hot conditions the seeds will not germinate or survive.

[2] This species is an annual herb, growing in a prostrate habit with the entire plant covered in dense, white, silky hairs.

In some plants, one of the two bracts tends to be laminar, oblanceolate, and awnless, while the one opposite to it is greatly reduced and terminated by a short, straight awn.

[3][4] This species is octoploid, and may have arose through ancient hybridization between other Chorizanthe, perhaps C. procumbens and C. polygonoides, leading to a doubling of the chromosomes.

[2] About 82% to 93% of San Diego County's maritime chaparral habitat has been destroyed for development and damaged by human activity such as recreation; there are just over 3000 acres remaining.

[2] It grows on soils of white sand which are neutral or somewhat acidic and low in organic material.

[2] Most of its historic range has been developed, but due to its diminutive, infrequent nature, there is a significant chance that other undiscovered populations exist, possibly at Torrey Pines State Park, where it has been noted before.