Stemodia durantifolia is native to the Americas, including Chile, Mexico, Texas, and the deserts of California and Arizona, and is often found in riparian habitats, preferring wet sand and rocks.

The inflorescence is a raceme of violet flowers, with each corolla held in a calyx of hairy, pointed sepals, and can often be found in bloom year-round.

[4][5] Although globally at low risk of extinction, Stemodia durantifolia is imperiled in California due to its rarity and threats from development.

In comparison, S. pusilla is an annual with petiolate leaves and inflorescences that are not spike-like, S. lanceolata grows taller, only branches basally, and has longer bracts and sepals, S. stricta is slightly taller, has a flexuous inflorescence, and shorter bracts and sepals, S. hyptoides shares the basal and axillary branching, but has an axillary inflorescence, shorter bracts, and equal to or shorter sepals, and S. maritima has corollas less than 5 mm (0.20 in) long, stalked pollen sacs, and is usually found in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the tropics.

[4][5][7] Stemodia durantifolia is a perennial herbaceous or suffrutescent plant, with the stiffly erect or ascending stems reaching 10–100 cm (3.9–39.4 in) tall.

[4][5][7] Stemodia durantifolia is native to the Americas, and is found in a wide distribution spanning from the southwestern United States to Chile.

[2] In the United States, Stemodia durantifolia is found in California, Arizona, and Texas,[4] with introduced populations in Florida.

[10] In Mexico, Stemodia durantifolia is found in 29 states in the country, ranging from Baja California to Tamaulipas to Quintana Roo.

[13] Stemodia durantifolia is usually found in wet and riparian places, sometimes disturbed, including along stream banks, ditches, margins of pools, rocks, and seepy hillsides.