It is native to the Eastern and Central United States and Canada, from New Brunswick west to Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ontario, south as far as Georgia and Louisiana.

[6][7] It produces yellow composite flowers in late summer or early fall.

The smooth slender stem of H. decapetalus is 60 to 200 cm (2 to 7 ft) tall and branched near the top.

The bracts are typically 11 to 16 mm long, surpassing the flower disk by at least half their length.

The flowers attract many kinds of insects, including bees and butterflies, some of which, such as the painted lady and the silvery checkerspot, use the plant as a larval host.