The main stem, branches, leaves, and seed pods are all covered with hispid or glass-like bristly hairs that release an allergenic toxin upon contact.

The seeds are known to be consumed by Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) and mourning doves (Zenaida macroura).

Tull suggested wearing long pants, long sleeves, boots, and gloves to pick the seed pods with a pair of tongs, then dropping them into a paper sack and waiting for the pods to ripen and burst in the sack to collect the seeds.

The leaves are three to six inches, simple, and are alternately arranged on the stem, and each leaf is deeply cut with 3 to 5 lobes.

[12] Contact with the plant, even the inadvertent, gentle brushing of exposed skin in passing, results in intense pain, including a burning, stinging, itching rash lasting for hours, with the fine hairs breaking off in the skin secreting caustic irritants.

The spines providing a vehicle for the plant's secretions to make it into the dermal and epidermal layers of the skin.

Once the nettles themselves are removed from the skin, a moderately basic preparation such as baking soda mixed with water to form a paste is sufficient to neutralize the acidic secretions of the plant, thus stopping the painful burning and itching sensation.