Fallugia paradoxa is a lower to middle elevation shrub of dry habitats. The flowers bear five white petals and dozens of stamens. The achenes have a long twisted hairy red style or "plume." The plume presumably aids in wind dispersal of the seeds. Large stands of Fallugia paradoxa can be seen alongside roads and on the sides of canyons. It looks similar to another member of the Rosaceae, Purshia stansburiana. Purshia has a much more obvious trunk than Fallugia. However, the flowers on Fallugia are larger and their pedicels are longer than on Purshia.