Annual herb, erect or prostrate at base, up to 75 cm tall, often branched from the base, usually purplish-green. Roots deep. Stem slender, striate, 2–3 mm in diameter, glabrous or nearly so, solid, not laticiferous. Leaves alternate, sessile, 4–16 × 1–8 cm, upper surface dark green, lower surface lighter green or tinged with purple, glabrous or nearly so, more or less coarsely dentate; lower leaves more or less deeply pinnatifid or lyrate, with orbicular-ovate or subtriangular terminal lobe, lower part often narrowly alate, often with patent white hairs in juvenile plants; upper leaves linear or sagittate, semi-amplexicaul. Inflorescence a terminal head, few together in slender corymbs or rarely solitary; head with 20–45 flowers, subcylindrical, 8–17 × 4–5 mm; peduncle slender, 1–5 cm long; involucral bracts 7–10, narrowly oblong-ovoid, usually slightly shorter than flowers, initially erect and cohering near the tips, later free and reflexed, green with narrow, transparent margins; hypanthium at anthesis copular, gradually turning convex. Ray flowers absent. Disk flowers bisexual; corolla tubular, 5-lobed, 8–12 mm long, light red, rarely green or white. Stamens connate, anthers 2–2.5 mm long, with small apical valve. Ovary short-haired with 2 style arms. Fruit an achene, linear-oblongoid, 2.5–3 mm long, ribbed, pilose, brownish; pappus hairs numerous, 6–9 mm long, white.

Commonly found as a weed on abandoned land. Grows on moist soil in partial shade to full sun. Propagated by seed sowing.
Young shoots are harvested from the rainy to cool seasons, and eaten fresh with dipping sauce such as nam phrik pla ra, or as a side dish. Contains 90 g water, 2.2 g protein, 0.3 g fat, 5.3 g carbohydrates, 1.1 g fibre, and 1.1 g ash per 100-g serving.