[1] It is native to western North America from southern Alaska and British Columbia to Baja California, where it occurs in many types of habitat.

It is an annual or possibly sometimes perennial herb growing prostrate to upright in form, thin to fleshy and usually hairless in texture.

The leaves are made up of usually three variously shaped leaflets with serrated edges.

The flower corolla is generally purplish in color and usually has a white tip.

It grows in habitats with dry, sandy soil to moist meadows.