[2][3] Flower heads with 6–21 red, maroon or yellow ray florets (with a 0.8–2.5 cm long petal each) surrounding 12–50 yellow disc florets (with 0.1 cm long corolla lobes).

[2][3] Fruits (cypselae) oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 0.7–1 cm long, 3-angled or compressed, striate.

[2][3] The native range of Z. peruviana spans from southeastern Arizona and the Greater Antilles south to Argentina.

[2][3] It grows mostly on open areas or rocky slopes between 800–3000 m of elevation.

[3][4] It has been introduced to and naturalized in many places such as China, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Australia, South Africa and Hawaii.