[4] It is native to the southwestern United States (Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas and California) and northern Mexico (Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Sonora), where it grows in varied mountain, plateau, and desert habitat.

[5][6][7] Menodora scabra is a small, multibranched subshrub producing several upright stems no more than 30 centimeters tall.

The leaves are oblong or oval, smooth along the edges, and opposite on the lower parts of the stems, becoming alternate above.

[8] They are 1-3 cm long and 1-6 mm wide, the larger leaves located lower on the plant.

[9][10][11] Native American Navajo people developed cold infusion of this plant to treat heartburn and facilitate labor for childbirth.