American germander is a robust perennial plant with a fibrous root system, forming clumps up to 3 ft (90 cm) tall.

The upright squarish stems have small side branches, and send out rhizomes at the base.

The leaves are opposite, stemmed lower on the plant and unstemmed on the upper sections of the stalk.

[5] American germander contains a number of chemicals with pharmacological properties, such as flavinoids, diterpenoids, tannins, bitter aromatics, volatile oils and glycosides, including saponins.

The earliest known use of the plant was by Native Americans who ground the leaves to prepare a herbal tea for use as a diuretic and to promote sweating.