[1][2][3][4] It is native to California and northern Baja California, where it grows in sandy, often disturbed soils from the southern Sierra Nevada foothills and the Mojave Desert to the Peninsular Ranges.

Erythranthe palmeri is a hairy annual herb growing up to about 28 centimeters in maximum height with a thin, spindly stem.

The oppositely arranged linear to oval leaves are under 3 centimeters long.

The tubular base of the flower is encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of sepals with pointed lobes.

The flower has a narrow throat and wide five-lobed face.