Erect plant, to 3 ft or so. Leaves opposite each other, divided into 3 to 5 strongly toothed, narrow oval leaflets. Flowerheads packed with tiny greenish-yellow flowers, orange towards center, surrounded by several long, leaf-like bracts. Blooms in summer. Leaves may turn purple in autumn. Fruits are small, dry ovals resembling striped, legless beetles with long antennae. These two long spines barbed, allowing them to stick into animal fur or human clothing and be carried elsewhere.

Native plant, often of wet places, but can tolerate drier spots. In Wildwood fairly common around the entrance wetland.

Spanish needles (B. bipinnata) is a lower plant and has leaves divided into lacy segments. Nodding bur-marigold (B. cernua ) is even lower and has ray flowers, like a little sunflower.