[1][3][4][5] Its specific epithet clevelandii honors 19th-century San Diego–based plant collector and lawyer Daniel Cleveland.

[6] It is endemic to the Peninsular Ranges of southern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in chaparral and oak woodland habitats, including in disturbed areas.

[7] Diplacus clevelandii is a sturdy perennial herb producing a hairy erect stem up to 90 centimeters tall from a woody caudex.

The tubular base of each flower is encapsulated in a hairy calyx of sepals over 2 centimeters long with long, pointed lobes.

The flower corolla is bright yellow and up to 4 centimeters in length with a wide, five-lobed mouth.