Hoffmannseggia tenella is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name slender rushpea.

The flowers have petals about half a centimeter long in shades of yellowish pink, orange, coral, or salmon.

Other plants in the habitat include huisache (Acacia farnesiana), huisachillo (Acacia schaffneri), spiny hackberry (Celtis laevigata), brasil (Condalia hookeri), retama (Parkinsonia aculeata), lotebush (Ziziphus obtusifolia), tasajillo (Opuntia leptocaulis), and Engelmann's prickly pear (Opuntia engelmannii).

The dense habit of the grass may hold in heat and humidity, which foster the growth of fungi on the seedlings of the rushpea.

It drains nutrients and water from the soil, and it may produce allelopathic substances that discourage growth of the rushpea.