Herbage moderately to densely hairy. Distal cauline leaf blades lanceolate to elliptic, not much reduced distally. Heads in wide arrays, usually with elongate proximal branches greatly exceeding subtending leaves. Rays florets 5-10. 2n = 18, 36.

Flowering Aug-Nov. Sandy, silty, and clay soils, fields, thickets, edges of woods, roadsides, ditches; 0-1200+ m; Ont.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., W.Va.

Variety aspera is the common race of the species in the southeastern United States. It also occurs infrequently further north to Michigan and Massachusetts. It is most commonly tetraploid , with diploids also occurring through the range.

This variety has a limited distribution in the state and has much the same habitats as the [full] species but grows in slightly drier soil. Most authors define the specific name of this species as "wrinkled." As I understand this definition, the axis of the wrinkle would be longer than wide which does not agree with the facts. The character described is the sunken area between the veinlets and has nothing to do with the prominent lateral veins. The surfaces of the blades appear as "hammered metal" without a design.