Nevada gilia is a locally rare annual with small purple flowers and a basal rosette of leaves.  It tends to co-occur with Aase’s onion (Allium aaseae), such as along the Polecat Loop.  It differs from the similar rosy gilia (Gilia sinuata) in having cottony hairs on the lower stem and leaves.

In older references, this species was usually treated as a synonym of Gilia inconspicua, or a more broadly defined G. sinuata.