Some species have flowers that are tightly packed into fluffy-looking inflorescences, the trait that gives them their common name.

The genus has a disjunct distribution, with species in California and northeastern Mexico, on the Mexican Pacific Islands, and western and southern South America from Peru to northern and central Chile to northwestern and southern Argentina.

[1] Many are adapted to arid environments, with some able to withstand climates that almost completely lack rainfall.

Cistanthe was a genus created to segregate several species previously classified in Calandrinia.

As of April 2024[update], Plants of the World Online accepts 46 species.