It has a trailing semi-woody vine covered with small recurved prickles that can be painful to bare skin.

Like a few other species of Mimosa (such as M. pudica), the leaves exhibit nyctinastic movement, folding up quickly when touched or disturbed.

When open, the pink-purple stamens form a globelike cluster at the tip of their leafless stalk.

Habitat includes disturbed areas of sandy or silty soils, roadsides, grasslands, prairies and forest margins.

The species name nuttallii is in honor of Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist who lived in the United States for many years.