[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.