Perennial herb, the stems sometimes woody at base, or annual, 0.1–1.5 m high; stem erect or sometimes straggling or scandent, pale green to reddish, white-puberulous to -pubescent with crisped hairs, sometimes slightly scabridulous. Leaves aromatic, green, sometimes with reddish margin, petiolate, the petiole 0.3–5 cm long, blade elliptic, ovate or cordiform, often basally slightly 3–5-lobed, 1–8 cm long, 0.3–7 cm wide, base cuneate, truncate or cordate, margins crenate to almost lobed, apex obtuse and mucronate, thinly pubescent in young leaves and rapidly becoming sparsely pilose on both surfaces, or scabridulous on both surfaces, sparsely glandular beneath. Capitula 4–18 mm long, solitary or in few-headed cymes, on long (2–18 cm) leafless stalks, but often with several branches close together and forming an inflorescence; phyllaries green, sometimes with red margins and tips, subequal, linear, oblanceolate or ovate, 2–12 mm long, acute, thinly to densely white-pubescent, sometimes glandular; receptacle becoming globose, with paleae 2–9 mm long, acute to attenuate, ciliate. Florets yellow; outer florets bright yellow, tube cylindric to narrowly infundibuliform, 0.8–2.4 mm long and sparsely glandular, ray 3.5–13 mm long, 1–2.5 mm wide, sparsely glandular beneath, style 2–3.3 mm long; inner florets many, yellow or orange-yellow, tube narrowly infundibuliform, 1.9–3.4 mm long, lobes 0.5–1 mm long and glandular, anthers 1.4–1.9 mm long, style 3–4.3 mm long. Achenes cylindric to ellipsoid, 4-sided, 0.8–2.2 mm long, pubescent, short-pilose on the ribs or glabrous; pappus of squamae 0.1–1.7 mm long or absent with only a narrow rim visible.
