It is one of the many species known as fire followers, that emerge in areas recently burned.

[1] It is an annual herb growing erect to a maximum height near 60 centimeters.

The hairy, glandular inflorescence is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of many funnel- or bell-shaped flowers.

Each flower is up to a centimeter wide with a lavender, pink, or white corolla and a yellow throat.

There are reports that glandular hairs of stems, flowers and leaves of Phacelia brachyloba secrete oil droplets that can cause an unpleasant skin rash (contact dermatitis) in some people.