The basal leaves are mid-green and hairless, circular, oval or obovate in shape and have crinkly toothed margins.

The flower stalk may also be cobwebby at the base, and bears two or three alternate pinnatifid leaves with irregular lobes.

The flower-head has a single row of linear-lanceolate green bracts, eight to sixteen yellow ray-florets and a central mound of orange-yellow disk florets.

[2] The native range of P. obovata is northern Mexico, the eastern United States and south-eastern Canada, extending from Coahuila to Quebec and Ontario.

Typical habitats include moist but well-drained calcareous soils, wooded slopes, and rocky areas in shaded or semi-shaded locations.