This plant occurs chiefly on serpentine soils, especially in dry native bunch grasses, chaparral or other grasslands at elevations less than 200 meters.

The outlook for this plant depends on survival of only about twenty small colonies, most of which are not actively managed for protection, even though the species is federally and state-listed as threatened.

These pink to rose colored petals each manifest three minute scales at the inner base; stamen dimensions vary between 5.5 and 7.0 millimeters.

In 1961 Helen K. Sharsmith produced a definitive study of Hesperolinon, with the result that this taxon clearly merited genus standing; moreover, she also returned Marin Dwarf Flax, H. congestum to species status.

In 2006 the Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced a program that has the potential for further reducing the habitat and population of H. congestum and a number of other listed species.

The most destructive element of this proposed program is the use of herbicide to effect a kill of virtually all vegetation in large areas of power line rights-of-way.

and Woodside Road, east of I-280, and the project is destroying about 10% of the population, however, a restoration plan was written during construction of the pipeline, to try to mitigate the damages.