It grows in moist or wet areas in many types of habitat.

Erythranthe androsacea is a petite annual herb producing a hair-thin, erect stem just a few centimeters tall.

Its herbage is mostly red to greenish in color, the paired tiny leaves sheathing the stem at midpoint.

The tubular base of the flower is surrounded by a slightly hairy red calyx of sepals.

The flower corolla is pink to reddish-purple with darker spots in the throat, and just a few millimeters long.