[1] It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in deserts and mountains in sandy open habitat, often beneath shrubs.

It is a perennial herb growing from a taproot and a woody caudex covered with the shreddy remains of previous seasons' herbage.

Flowers occur in a loose cyme at the top of the stem.

The outer three are heart-shaped and green to pink or purple in color, and the inner two are much smaller and narrower.

The flower within is bell-shaped, white with central purple markings, and roughly half a centimeter wide.