Symphyotrichum divaricatum is an annual and herbaceous plant with a tap root.

It usually grows between 60 and 200 centimeters (2 and 6+1⁄2 feet), but may remain below that height as low as 10 cm (4 in).

As the plant is drying after pollination, each ray floret curls under into three to five coils.

[5] Symphyotrichum divaricatum is native to the Mexican states of Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas, as well as the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas,[3] and Virginia.

[2] It grows in marshy habitats, roadsides, lawns, and waste places at 0–1,500 meters (0–4,921 feet), and is often considered weedy.