This plant is native to the woodlands and forests of western North America from British Columbia to Baja California.

It is often a member of the chaparral plant community.

Cryptantha intermedia is an annual plant with a rough, hairy, branching stem reaching a maximum of half a meter in height.

It grows from a mostly basal clump of hairy leaves one to several centimeters long.

The erect stems are topped with one or more small flowers, each about a centimeter wide and bright white, sometimes with yellow coloration in the throat.