[3] It has five-lobed (palmate) leaves that are aromatic when crushed, with pale pink flowers in summer.

It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, where it is used as a flowering groundcover, with named cultivars selected for flower colors from white through pink to magenta.

The cultivars 'Ingwersen's Variety' (pale pink)[4] and 'White-ness' [5] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

One of the many components of the essential oil is the sesquiterpene ketone germacrone, which has been shown to have in vitro antimicrobial activity against the species Bacillus subtilis.

[citation needed] In addition to oils, it contains flavonoids, sesquiterpenes, phenolic acids, pigments, vitamins, and mineral salts.