It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in desert and woodland.

[2][3][4] It is a tiny parasitic plant, only a few millimeters long, which lives in the stem tissues of its host plants, species of legume shrubs, often of genus Psorothamnus, especially Emory's indigo bush or dyebush (Psorothamnus emoryi).

[6] It is a dioecious species, with male and female individuals producing one type of flower each.

Both types are brown or maroon and no more than 2 millimeters across, appearing as specks on the stem of the host plant.

[5] The female flower swells slightly as the fruit capsule develops within, and each may hold over 100 seeds, which are minute.