[1] It is native to the coastline of western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in sandy coastal habitat such as beaches, dunes, and scrub.

[2][3][4] Polygonum paronychia is a small prostrate or upright shrub producing multibranched brown stems up to a meter (40 inches) long.

The leaves are linear to lance-shaped with rolled edges and bristly midribs on the undersides.

The ochrea is up to 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) long and is persistent, fraying into fibrous, silvery shreds that remain on the plant through the seasons.

Each is up to a centimeter (0.4 inches) wide with five narrow white or pinkish corolla lobes.