Fern-Leaf Phacelia is a many-branching annual which blooms from March to June. It grows in dry places and, like other Phacelias, is quick to reestablish after a fire. The foliage, as its name implies, resembles that of ferns, with pinnately divided oblong leaves in a lush green color. Leaves and stems are hairy. Flowers unfold from a coil and are about an half-inch in diameter. Their color ranges from lavendar to a deep blue-violet. They have 5 petals and 5 stamens, with the stamens not extruding much beyond the petals.

The genus name Phacelia is a Greek term meaning "cluster", referring to the crowded flower spikes found in many plants in this genus. The species name distans means the stamens are spaced apart from each other. A related species, Phacelia tanacetifolia, looks similar but can be distinguished by much longer extruding stamens than Phacelia distans.