The solitary yellow flowers are tubular with five free lobes at the end, the upper two pointing backwards, the lower three projecting forwards.

[3] The genus Holmgrenanthe was established in 1985 by Wayne J. Elisens solely for the species H. petrophila, previously placed in Maurandya (including Maurandella).

The generic name honors Arthur H., Noel H., and Patricia K. Holmgren, described by Elisens as "dedicated botanists and students of the western flora.

[3] Lack of relevant information has led to Holmgrenanthe being excluded from the molecular phylogenetic studies confirming that Elisen's Maurandyinae together with Asarina and Cymbalaria form a monophyletic group (clade),[5] but analyses based on morphological characters suggest that Holmgrenanthe was the first diverging genus within the clade, retaining features of the earliest ancestor.

The cladogram presented by Ghebrehiwet is shown below:[6] Holmgrenanathe Asarina – not in Maurandyinae sensu Elisens Mabrya Maurandya (including Maurandella) Lophospermum (including Epixiphium) Rhodochiton rest of the tribe The sole species in the genus, Holmgrenanthe petrophila,[7] was first described in 1935 by Frederick Vernon Coville and Conrad Vernon Morton (as Maurandya petrophila).

The plants described by Coville and Morton were growing in a north facing vertical limestone wall in Titus Canyon in Death Valley, California.

It grows in limestone crevices on the canyon walls, often on the north face, in areas dominated by creosote bush scrub.

[4][3] Elisens suggested that Holmgrenanthe petrophila might be a "paleoendemic", originally having a much larger range, but now confined to more sheltered and moister microhabitats in desert canyons as a consequence of a warming and drying trend 11,000–8,000 years ago.