Clarkia tembloriensis is an erect annual herb exceeding 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) in maximum height.

The lance-shaped leaves are gray-green in color and waxy, reaching 7 centimeters long.

The fuzzy greenish sepals stay fused together as the petals bloom from one side.

[2] The two current subspecies are:[3] The wildflower is endemic to California, where it is native to the San Joaquin Valley, and into the adjacent Inner South California Coast Ranges on its west, including the namesake Temblor Range, and occasionally into the Sierra Nevada foothills on its southeast.

[3] It is found in chaparral scrub and grassland habitats, at 100–500 metres (330–1,640 ft) in elevation.