Varied-leaf collomia is an annual with one to several simple to branched stems from the base, rising from 5-40 cm high. The leaves are mainly alternate along the stems. The lower leaves are pinnatifid (compound pinnate) with the blades up to 3.5 cm long and 2 cm wide. The leaves of the middle and upper stems become progressively less cleft, and those found below the flowers are entire or toothed with short petioles.
The corollas are pink, lavender, or white, with a long tube from 8-17 mm long which flares only slightly. The petal lobes spread at a right angle to the tube and are 3-4 mm long. The calyx is much shorter than the tube.
Varied-leaf collomia is found in moist open woods, forest openings, and along loose streambanks at low elevations.
Varied-leaf collomia is found from southern British Columbia south to the west of the Cascade Mts. to California. It is also found in northern Idaho