It is native to southwestern Canada and the northwestern United States, where it generally grows in wooded and forested areas in thickets and moist streambanks.

It is an annual herb with a fleshy, somewhat prickly stem growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall.

The alternately arranged leaves are divided into several wide, pointed lobes.

The bell-shaped flower corolla is white or purple-tinged and a few millimeters wide.

The fruit is a capsule which develops within the calyx of sepals and contains a single red, pitted seed.