An upright or spreading short-lived herbaceous plant usually growing to about 1 m in height. Its much-branched stems are covered in short, stiff, hairs that give them a rough texture. Its large, broad, irregularly toothed leaves are also rough to the touch and commonly have three or five broad lobes. Separate male and female flower-heads are produced on different regions of the branches. Its fruit is a shortly-stalked and oval-shaped 'burr' (7-20 mm long) containing two seeds. This fruit is covered in numerous hooked spines (about 2 mm long) and has two larger spines (about 4 mm long) at its tip.