The plant grows 1–5 ft (about 30–150 cm) high, producing a cluster of small, yellow, 5-parted flowers on a hairy stalk above pinnate leaves.

[5][6] The plant's native range covers most of the United States and Canada (except the Rocky Mountains)[2] and extending south to Chiapas, Mexico.

[6][citation needed] The name "grooveburr," which is sometimes applied to the plant, comes from the grooved shape of the seedpod or burr.

[10] The Ojibwe used the plant for urinary problems,[10] and the Meskwaki and Prairie Potawatomi used it as a styptic for nosebleeds.

[10] These ethnobotanical uses of the plant have some similarities to the traditional medical uses of Agrimonia eupatoria, which is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa.